Wednesday, March 3, 2010

There is something infecting the warm baked bread holiness of motherhood - at least on the internet. We must be perfect. We must feed our children only organic nuts, grains, fruits, and free-range dairy. We must create sumptuous craft projects on an hourly basis. They must know how to knit by the time they're two. The boys must have gender neutral haircuts and flounce around with playsilks. If not. If not. They must not be vaccinated (much) and they must not be circumcised. They must not even think of anything plastic. They must always be outside.

This is the internet. It isn't reality. In fact (and of course I must mention it because I am a mother on the internet!) my child and I DO a lot of those things. We walk everywhere. We do a craft/art project a day. He knows his way around an abacus. We have a nature table. I enjoy these things and the ideas I get from websites run by highly creative and nurturing women.

I have a boy, though - prone to outbursts and rages. Prone to want to watch The Clone Wars for a morning. I'm prone to want to spend all morning on Married to the Sea or something some mornings. Our mothers who stayed at home - did they feel this pressure? In asking my own she said no. She had neighbors that she knew. The children played or watched pbs television. The mothers stayed in the kitchen with coffee. Now we commune over ethernet and wifi. The only coffee in the kitchen is our own. So fill our days with the right things and the right preparation. And it's tougher for those of us who work. Good lord, do we work. I know, I just left that world. Working moms are expected the playsilks and more.

Let's just drink coffee and let our kids run around.

1 comment:

Erin said...

I can not tell you how refreshing it was to read this post. Do you have any idea how much I adore you? :)