Shew! I am tired. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a mom say that, I probably wouldn’t be tired anymore! You know how, when you were little, you would hate going to school because you knew your mom was home catching up on her soaps or watching Oprah? I had this preconceived notion that that was what it was like to be a mom. How do I sign up for that mom gig? Because this working full-time *and* momming is getting old.
Maybe it’s just a sign of the times. I grew up in the 80s, which, to me, was the best generation to be a mom. The lack of rules, the “safe” society. Moms were either way too trusting, or just didn’t give a sh*t. Granted, my mom was more like Mary Poppins than an 80s mom, but watching how some of my friend’s moms “mommed” was enlightening.
In some respects I wish we could go back to that way of parenting. It even seemed like moms were less judgey towards other moms. Nowadays every mom is under the microscope-
- “Oh, you haven’t signed your kid up for flag football, soccer, basketball, karate, golf, taekwondo, or frisbee golf?”
- “You actually feed your kids those Dino nuggies? My Harvey only eats organic.”
- “Oh baby, please be safe on those monkey bars! Here, no, let me just, okay, this is better” (as she holds him while walking across the monkey bars).
I think, honestly, if we got rid of the judgment toward other moms we’d be a lot better off. People don’t realize the mental strength it takes when others continually judge every single thing you do with and for your kids.
Of course our world was a lot safer and better in the 80s too. Most moms didn’t have to work; we didn’t need two-income houses to survive day-to-day. We didn’t need to worry about riding our bikes down the street or playing Capture the Flag or Flashlight Tag in the neighborhood.
There’s loads to be grateful for in modern motherhood in our world today. But, man, some days when I haven’t had a chance to pee for 10 hours, let alone sit down, I pine for those days when I could be sitting in my Lazyboy recliner catching up on my soaps or Oprah.
