Best friend has child. Her: exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc. Me (no kids): Wow. Sorry. What'd you do today? Her: Park, play group . . .
Okay. I've done Internet searches, I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them EVERY DAY. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events) and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy -- not a bad thing at all -- but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a peeing contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions.
Tacoma, Wash.
Relax and enjoy. You're funny.
Or you're lying about having friends with kids.
Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them.
Internet searches?
I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed.
So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.
It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.
It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.
It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.
It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.
It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself."
1 comment:
Moms are absolutely the best, and God willing, hopefully one day I'll be a mom too, just as awesome as my own mom...but sometimes that is out of anyone's control.
I am not convinced this article does moms much justice though, b/c of the tone of voice used.
So...I want to point out first off, that not ALL non-moms are clueless and rude as the person who wrote in her question to Carolyn. ;)
Secondly, you can't truly understand anyone's situation unless you live it. A non-mom can't understand what its like to be a mom, no matter how hard they try.
On the flip-side..a mom may have absolutely no idea what it means to be single and bear all the financial burden, housework, car repairs, house repairs, chores, etc, etc..single-handedly..while working and finding the time to date..(unless of course, they got married a bit later in life after experiencing some of these things themself)
*I'm making the assumption that the moms are not single, of course.
Its a conversation that both sides can either have in an attempt to make a true point of understanding eachother....or not have at all and just 'let it go'.
I don't think either side in this post did a good job of understanding eachother.
Great post..kinda funny - albeit a tad bit stereotypical ;)
One thing I'll say for sure tho that mom or non-mom...boys have no clue what its like to be either. LOL! Thats another post for another time, I'm sure...
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