I dont know how she does it...
Ok yesterday I read THE most frustrating book ever written. Yes, I read it in a day I am a speed reader and I still managed to have a fantastic yoga session with my beautiful trainer Amy, a clearing session, a birthday lunch for DH bff, and a spray tan. Hmmmm my major problem with the book?
It was incredibly frustrating to watch this woman blatantly choose her work over her family. FULL STOP. No working mother I know is in the slightest bit like this woman. I fully relate to the hustle and bustle of her life, the judgement left-right-centre, the patriotic society within which we live etc ect etc but the way this woman describes her children and spending time with them is just not acceptable. The conclusion I drew from the book was that there can be NO balance between work and motherhood...and I just do not believe that. It particularly pained me how quickly she weaned them from the breast, the constant reference to bottle use and her manipulative nanny.
Rant almost complete...I am going back to work in a week(ish) I thought reading this book might give me insight into how I can create a balance...it failed.
So. I am extremely lucky that I can work my hours around a feeding & sleeping baby, that I can leave him with family or have him at my workplace, that I can be there for his firsts. My life is always busy but my number one priority is my son.
This morning we indulged in a bowl of fruit salad thanks to DH, and DS is just starting to use a spoon for himself. He adores berries! We love BLW. Will blog about that after my article is on its way to The Birthing Site :)
Ahhhhh the unannounced arrival of my nanna...
Cheers & Giggles
xx
PS if anyone would like to comment on any of my blogs this far please please do :)
Hey Sares,
ReplyDeleteCan't say I read the book but I did see the movie. It was horrid. The title couldn't be more inappropriate because as far as I could see, she didn't manage to "do it" in the slightest. I understand it's supposed to be a movie which examines the fact that women who work are also still expected to be a primary caregiver etc etc (and I could go on for hours about how the Australian legal system provides only pathetic, illusory mechanisms to support working caregivers (regardless of whether they are the mother or father), particularly compared to European countries, but that's another story).
But, if only the movie had portrayed a more positive spin on things, rather than leaving you with the impression that if you want to be a successful, professional woman, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you must dump your kids on a nanny, miss out on "firsts", and make your kids feel neglected in the process. There are other options available and even if there weren't other options, I don't necessarily think the adverse consequences of being a working mother which were portrayed in the film are as inevitable as the lm appears to suggest!
ReplyDeleteHaha dont get me started on the inequaleties offered to working parents! <3
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