Through the ages, talented women have been squeezed into narrow pigeonholes. We were expected to be wives and mothers, and our avocations were supposed to enhance our primary role. When I was a girl, guidance counselors advised me to "not spread myself too thin." Meaning, I should choose a career that allowed a long summer vacation, one that coincided with my childrens' holiday. Most importantly, I should choose  a profession that I could set on a shelf, to retrieve at a later time. "Be a teacher or a nurse," my Mother said, "so you'll have something to fall back on if your husband dies."