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Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Working Moms: Samia Perkins (left) and her daughter Cary, Alison Soman (center) and her son Ben, and Lisa Carpontier and her daughter, Milia Bekele, all live on the same street. The three mothers have helped one another balance motherhood and a career.

Trio of neighborhood women creating balance of work, motherhood, friendship

Supportive husbands, creativity are key

By Mary Gottschalk

For three young women living in the Newhall Neighborhood, the question of motherhood and career is not a matter of one or the other.

They want both, but on their own terms.

Lisa Charpontier, Samia Perkins and Alison Soman live within blocks of each other, and their babies were all born in October 2005.

Charpontier's daughter, Milia, was born on the 10th and Perkins' daughter, Cary, and Soman's son, Benjamin, were born on the 25th.

Beyond the occasional hello while out walking, the trio didn't get to know each other until they were pregnant. Now, they are friends. Two have started working together, and they've organized a playgroup in their neighborhood. They are also a mini-support group for each other, exchanging advice and tips.

Additionally, all three decided time with their children trumped time in an office.

"I'd always considered myself a professional above anything. My career was very important to me, but after I had Milia, I realized I'm a mother above anything else," says Charpontier, a landscape designer working toward a landscape architect license.

"When Milia was about 3 months old, I was offered my ideal job, but they weren't going to be flexible. I would have had to work full time with regular hours, and I'd have had to get daycare. I realized at this point, there's no way I could do that in spite of it being my ideal job."

Perkins' employer, Hospira in Morgan Hill, paid her salary for the first eight weeks of her leave, and then she went on paid family leave, which gave her 55 percent of her salary.

When Perkins' leave ended, she hoped to work from home part time. However, when her employer wanted her to return to the office and work full time, she decided she couldn't.

"I wanted to be with Cary," Perkins says. "I felt that was really important. I'm nursing, and I wanted to continue. I feel very strongly I couldn't leave her, and I felt I'd do anything if I could stay with her."

Soman was working in marketing for a high-tech company when she became pregnant.

"It was fast-paced," she says. "When there was a problem with a customer and our software, you had to be there. We had to work late and work weekends."

When she knew she was pregnant, Soman says, "I saved as much as I could to be able to stay out as long as I could."

When it was time to make a choice, Soman says, "There was nothing to it. I knew I wanted to stay home with my baby.

"I wasn't thrilled with what I was doing. Tech doesn't suit my character, but it was really good money."

Yet, given mortgages and the cost of living in Silicon Valley, all three knew they needed to work.

Perkins started Samia's Office Services (www.samiasofficeservices.com), offering website creation and maintenance, technical writing and eBay sales.

"It's working out pretty well," Perkins says. In addition to helping her husband Erick, owner of CB Perkins Co., sell guitars on eBay, she's working for a former colleague who has started a software company.

"I'm also a hair stylist," says Perkins, who is now working part time at Cielo Salon.

Charpontier decided that she could stay home and continue her landscape design work as a freelancer. She's still doing consulting work for her former employer, Emery Rogers & Associates, but she's also launched Botany of Design (www.botanyofdesign.com).

Among the services she offers is a division she calls Sprouts.

It is in this area that Charpontier extended an invitation to Soman to join her.

"Landscape design services are expensive, but Sprouts is less expensive because we do it in four or fewer hours," Charpontier says.

For about $350, the two work with a client to analyze what they have, what they want and how to achieve it on a specific budget. They strive to make sure that a completed garden design is done within 48 hours of their first meeting.

Soman is thrilled with the collaboration.

"We've been working together. I use my marketing and desktop publishing skills, and she's training me to draw up plans for customers and help design gardens. I have only minimal experience, but I love gardening, and I love plants. It was a no-brainer. It's so wonderful the way it's worked out."

While all three are now contributing to their household income, they are trying to be realistic about the future.

"It takes a lot of creativity because we all have our children with us when we work," Charpontier says. "When we work, we're trying to juggle the schedule around nap times, and sometimes we have to have daddy take over while we go out to meet a client."

Perkins says she's finding out she can still be comfortable on less income than she thought.

Fully supporting their wives are Erick Perkins, John Soman and Charpontier's husband, Yonas Bekele.

Perkins says she believes what they are doing is "a really neat thing. It's like there is hope for people."

Parks celebrate Mother's Day
with festivities, crafts and gifts

With Mother's Day on May 14, the Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens have several suggestions for marking the day that won't empty a person's bank account.

They are offering two free "Roses to Roses Mother's Day Walks" on May 14. Each one begins and ends at the Heritage Rose Garden at Taylor and Spring streets. There will be tours of the garden itself and a guided, gentle walk out onto the Guadalupe River Trail.

The walks begin at 1 and 2:30 p.m., and participants are advised to wear a hat and sunscreen.

For children who would like to make a personal card for the day, there is a drop-in workshop to make Mother's Day cards on May 13 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Heritage Rose Garden.

For those with a bigger budget looking for an unusual Mother's Day gift, the Heritage Rose Garden is offering rose adoptions.

For $50, donors can designate a rose in the garden to honor someone. A plaque will be placed by the rose and carry a personal message.

For more information, visit www.grpg.org or call 408.298.7657.