> That level becomes the new norm In my nonprofit public policy advocacy (lobbying, really) job out of grad school (I was 33 when I got my MSW), I worked my bu

> That level becomes the new norm In my nonprofit public policy advocacy (lobbying, really) job out of grad school (I was 33 when I got my MSW), I worked my butt off. Went in early, stayed late, worked most weekends. I LOVED the work. This continued until I got married at 40. And then I wanted to spend time with my husband and his kids. Guess what. . . The weekend work stopped, at least the bulk of it. My board chair said something to me one day about my productivity tapering off. I took it as an observation, not complaint or criticism. And then I explained I got married blah blah blah. She totally understood. I have to say, though, that the hard work and commitment was worth it. Not long after I was married, my husband had a cancer scare. The board and executive director gave me all the time off I needed to help him recover and none of the time was charged to PTO. A colleague was given the day off of work to hang with me while he had surgery. I took a month off and then left work early for probably another month. Work sent food the day we got home from the hospital. Sure, I worked when my husband was sleeping, but I was not anywhere near 100%.