Page 104 - South Mississippi Living - September, 2015

it’s a juggling act &
BALANCING
work family
THE FERNANDEZ family is Zakary, Mila, Joe and Deanna.
THE ROGERS blended family is Bailey, Meredith, Lowell and Michelle Rogers and Grayson Duckworth.
story by Susan Ruddiman photos courtesy of Michelle Rogers and Joe Fernandez
With today’s hectic lifestyles, working women with children can really feel the time squeeze.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that almost 70 percent of the 72.7 million women in the labor force have children under age 18. Women who work outside the home are striving for a balanced life as they meet the needs of their careers, children, spouse or significant other, parents, extended families and even themselves.
Two busy Mississippi Gulf Coast mothers share how they have developed ways to meet all those demands.
“We have got to be very organized,” said Michelle Rogers, marketing director at Edgewater Mall in Biloxi. She has a blended family of “yours, mine and ours,” with husband Lowell Rogers, a firefighter for the city of Biloxi. They
have his son, Bailey, a college student; her son, Grayson Duckworth, a college student; and their daughter, Meredith, 10.
“The kids went to three different schools when they were younger. Lowell works 24 on and is off 48 hours, and my job is 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. So it’s been very important to know who was doing what on each day,” Rogers said. They use a calendar to keep up with their activities.
As a certified registered nurse anesthetist, Deanna Fernandez sometimes finds herself working long days and being on call over the weekends.
“I have to be at work Monday through Friday at 6:30 a.m.,
and then I work until there are no more cases in surgery — some are scheduled and some are emergency. It can be crazy because I don’t know when I will get off,” she said.
Fernandez is married to Joe Fernandez, who is employed with the Biloxi School District, and they have two children, Zakary, 13, and Mila, 4. Her husband’s school year work schedule and his more predictable hours have helped keep the family on track, she said. He coaches soccer and their son is on a soccer select team, meaning he can travel on weekends.
“Joe gets the kids ready in the morning, and drops off Mila at pre-school. He cooks, so I’m a little spoiled in that respect,” Fernandez said.
Rogers also praises her husband for being there for the family.
“When he’s working his 24 hours, I have to do everything. But he does most of the cooking, grocery shopping, laundry and other things around the house that keep the gears moving,” she said.
Their sons played soccer as they were growing up, and now Mila is involved in the sport with her father as the head coach.
Both working women said their down time with family
is vital to their well-being. Rogers finds her faith and church keeps her grounded while Fernandez says her recent vacation where she stayed home “was the best week ever.”
104 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • September 2015
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