Take Time for Family

I agree with Erma Bombeck (View, Sept. 6). Stay-at-home moms and working mothers must stop bashing each other over lifestyle choices. But then a Real Estate section profile about Century 21’s top agent Marty Rodriguez (“Long Days Put Agent on Top,” Sept. 6), shot Bombeck’s peace efforts right down to the diaper pail.

Rodriguez, mother of two, works 14-hour days and is harnessed to four cellular phones. For 13 years her family had no dining table because they were rarely home to eat. Her daughter once arranged a dinner party for her mom, but that was a disaster because Rodriguez spent the whole time on the phone. Great job of building your daughter’s self-esteem, Marty!

Believe me, there is absolutely nothing wrong with working, whether for financial security or for personal validation. However, we feminists have won no rights at all if what we have done is to become more like men, focusing solely on work, to the exclusion of our families.

Marty, the real estate will always be there. Your son and daughter will not.

HEIDI SNIVELY, Manhattan Beach