I'll Be Back Soon, Little Neglected Blog!

My first Brio Birth series finishes up tomorrow.  The fact that two evenings a week are spent on this (one to prepare, one to teach), coupled with the fact that Ian has gone completely high-need on me since December (seriously--it's like we have Ruby as a newborn again) and we're neck-deep in Haley's two-years-going-on-three-ness (which really, you'd have to witness to understand, and even then, you might think we're just not implimenting the "right" tactics, but the fact is that yes, we have yet another strong-willed child, and tactics only go so far. . .you'd have to have been there ) and the icing of Claire's leftover toddler vestiges (read: fits) revisiting us more often than they were a good six months ago. . .

[Deep breath in]

I am.

SPENT.

Completely.

All the time.

I hope that conveys a glimpse of what's been going on here the last few months.

Anyway, I just got on while nursing Ian one last time for the night (or so I delude myself) to read a few blogs (How I've missed you, blogging friends! It has been too long!) and realized that it is feasible that I may blog again soon.  Got excited at the prospect and wanted to share.

* Disclaimer: If this remains the last post for another 4 months, finishing my first series apparently hasn't made enough of a difference.  Please re-read the above and pray for us.  No really.  Please do it either way.

Hallelujah Chorus!

If you have not yet seen this popular video:

http://www.philly.com/philly/video/106492678.html

Imagine being at Macy’s when 650 voices burst into song!  I teared up just thinking about it!

For more about Random Acts of Culture, visit

http://www.knightarts.org/

Validation for SAHMs—The Job ain’t Easy

Recently, I found myself in conversation with a few relative strangers.  Talk was of a project and a timeline and the question was asked, could anyone meet the deadline in a few days?  One woman piped up,

“I can’t do it.  I’m off work tomorrow, which means that I have all three kids all day . . . ”

—and the clincher, (apparently, though I was surprised, since I’m not often privy to this perspective)—

“all by myself;

my husband won’t even be there to help me.”

She went on to say something about how on those days, all she can do is brush her teeth.

There you have it.  Have you ever wondered if it’s just you?  If this parenting thing is supposed to be easy, and is for everyone else, but you just haven’t figured it out yet?

Personally, this statement hit me like a fresh breeze: so other people think this job is hard?  Okay, maybe I’m not that crazy to feel overwhelmed at some point(s) on any given day (and all day on others). 

And it puts being able to have “all the kids all day” and also accomplish something more than brushing my teeth into the WOW! category (if you’re like me, all that may be is a shower on some days!).

Shortly after we moved to our current house a couple years ago, a neighbor confided to me that she was going back to work for the sole reason that being a SAHM was too difficult (she had two children: a four-year-old and a two-year-old).  She told me, “I don’t know how you do it, but  I just can’t do it anymore.” whispering to add, “It’s easier to go back to work.”

These two statements echo in my mind (I treasure them, if you want to know the truth!) reminding me that though the perception is that being a full-time wife/mom/homemaker is taking the easy way out, it is simply not so.

Hope these statements brighten my mama friends’ days, too; including former SAHMs (Mom).

These comments dovetail well with an article I read a couple years ago, from which I have this excerpt:

“So look, in the interest of truth-telling, I'm telling you this: people are not being honest about what it's like to be with kids. People are scared to admit that they would rather be at work than with their kids, because work is easier than parenting. (Notable exception: Sally Krawcheck.) If I have to read about how much someone loves their kids one more time, I'm gonna puke. Because we all know that parents love their kids. It's not interesting. It's not helpful. It's not even very relevant. For anyone.

“What's interesting is the part where parents love their kids but don't love being with them on a daily basis. It's very scary to write. But I'm telling you, if the feeling weren't ubiquitous then there would be no one to be in middle management working 9-5 because they'd all be home with their kids, doing freelance work after bedtime.”

For more (including a challenge to the myth of Super Mom; that one can do it all), read her entire article here: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2008/06/10/the-hardest-part-of-my-job-is-that-everyone-lies-about-parenting/

Full-time parenting: effortless, no!