Dear Sarah and Ginny,

Good question! But the Sun never gets in the way of family! It is always there for us to go to the park on a beautiful sunny day! Career and motherhood are not mutually exclusive, most of us female scientists are living proof. I have two daughters, ages 18 adn 15, the older one at MIT (she'll also be a scientist, it looks like) and the youngest one in high school, interested in art and photography. I am from Argentina, so I was raised with many women around, and so I hired a woman from El Salvador who lived and worked with us for 15 years. She has moved on now but we keep in touch all the time. My girls had 3 parents, in a way, with Berta at home. And their spanish is so good because of her being around and talking with me in Spanish all the time. The other key thing is to have a supportive husband who is an active parent. We shared everything, all the chores, etc. it was a great time we had. I am now retired early, and have even more time with my youngest daughter. I was an active astronomer for 20 years, and now I can volunteer and talk with you! The nice thing about being a scientist is that you are never really retired. I plan to be more active at science museums in the next couple of years, but now I wanted to be home, and that is awesome too.

Best wishes with your careers and your families.

Isabel Hawkins