Happy Mother's Day!

By Kevin L. Nichols

Years ago, I visited an exhibit at the Oakland Museum that featured portraits of prominent African American women throughout history. Underneath their portraits, they displayed famous quotes by these individuals. One in particular stood out in my mind, however, I cannot recall the author. The quote was, "Service is the rent we pay here on Earth." While reflecting on this, I thought of all mother's, including my own, as Mother's Day approaches, yet one mother in particular was placed indelibly on my brain. That would be Mrs. Tamara Nichols.

Tamara is the epitome of what a mother should be for her children. Not only does she put the needs of her children before her own, but she will stop at nothing to give them what they need in life. Tamara is on the board of directors for a local non-profit, on the school board at my oldest son's school, and very active in other children's related organizations designed to enhance the overall quality of their lives.

In addition to all of this, she has chosen to temporarily give up her career as a lawyer to be a stay-at-home mother. This is a very difficult task in this day and age, yet as a family, we continue to support her. Although the attached article describes how important being a "stay-at-home mother" truly is, I would like to publicly and sincerely, thank my wife for having my children on this Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!

Very truly yours,

Kevin L. Nichols

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If stay-at-home moms got paid, they'd make six figures
Mark Jewell, Associated Press
Friday, May 9, 2008
(05-09) 04:00 PDT Boston - --

If a stay-at-home mom could be compensated in dollars rather than personal satisfaction and unconditional love, she'd rake in a nifty sum of nearly $117,000 a year.
That's according to a pre-Mother's Day study released Thursday by Salary.com, a Waltham, Mass., firm that studies workplace compensation.
The eighth annual survey calculated a mom's market value by studying pay levels for 10 job titles with duties that a typical mom performs, ranging from housekeeper and day care center teacher to van driver, psychologist and chief executive officer.
This year, the annual salary for a stay-at-home mom would be $116,805, while a working mom who also juggles an outside job would get $68,405 for her motherly duties.
One stay-at-home mom said the six-figure salary sounds a little low.
"I think a lot of people think we sit at home and have a lot of fun and don't do a lot of work," said Samantha Russell, a Fremont, N.H., mother who left her job as a pastry chef to raise two boys, ages 2 and 4. "But they should try cleaning their house with little kids running around and messing it up right after them."
The biggest factor in a mom's theoretical salary is the amount of overtime pay she'd receive for working more than 40 hours a week.
The 18,000 moms surveyed about their typical week reported working 94.4 hours - meaning they'd be spending more than half their working hours on overtime.
Working moms reported an average 54.6-hour "mom workweek" besides the hours they spent at paying jobs.
Russell agreed that her job as a stay-at-home mom is more than full time. But she said it brings intangible benefits that she wouldn't enjoy in the workplace.
"The rewards aren't monetary, but it's a reward knowing that they're safe and happy," Russell said of her sons. "It's worth it all."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/09/MN5A10JBFH.DTL
This article appeared on page A - 11 of the San Francisco Chronicle