Define productive

Productivity is a funny word. I used to think I knew what it meant. That is, until I chalked up a day of changing diapers, making bottles and blowing raspberries as productive.

I used to measure it by the amount of copy I turned out. As a writer, this is relatively easy. A buddy of mine at the newspaper used to make it a contest. We'd count how many stories we had written in a month. Whoever wrote the most got a beer from the other person. It was always him - mainly because he was the most prolific writer I'd ever met.

At the magazine, is was all about word count. I would come home, knowing I was productive that day.

But now, it's a little more subjective. It came up in a discussion the other day when I had the possibility of a quick gig that made a decent amount of cash. At this point, I'm not willing to turn down cash. But the more important part of it was I was being productive - I was contributing to the family. I felt like I just hadn't been contributing.

But, as my wonderful husband pointed out, I was already contributing immensely by staying home and taking care of our now 6-month-old baby. So, in a sense, I was being productive. Not only were we saving the money of day care, but we also knew exactly who was watching our baby during her first year - me!

With a baby in the mix, life is never easy, but it's always interesting.