1. Supermom complex
Why do so many of us suffer from this? Well, I know why: we are held up to unreal expectations of what being a mother should be and how we should raise our kids. How can one model of motherhood apply to every mother and every child? Even with my own two kids, I parent them differently. Ava does not respond to time outs and Lily does. Ava loves quiet time reading and Lily could care less about it and would rather sit quietly playing with her baby dolls. So, why do we all compare ourselves to others? There is no ideal mother--something has to give at some point. I know for me, when I try to be "Supermom" I suffer as an individual (I was one of those before giving birth, I think!)and as a partner in my marriage. Sorry, IMHO, if my kids eat healthy, are compassionate, and have love and give love, I think they are on the right track. Besides, I'd much rather be Wonder Woman!
2. Mama Feminist
It was one of my last classes the other night and one of the pieces we were discussing was about a Latin American woman who educated the indigineous people of Chile about birth control, basic feminine hygiene, and also exposed them to an education. The discussion then grew into one of my female classmates saying, "Well, of course this woman is a feminist, she never married and did not have any kids." I almost fell of my chair. WTF?! If possible, I think I came out of the womb as a feminist but to assume that a woman can not be a feminist if she has children or is married is effing ridiculous! Being a mother has only enhanced my values as a feminist--I was exposed to an entirely new set of issues as a mother: making less than a man in the workplace, being the "supposed" caretaker of my children and my husband being the "babysitter"--WTF, he is a father!--and the effed up early childhood education policies in this country, i.e. the exorbanant cost of daycare. This was Thursday evening and I'm still pissed off about it because I know this is not an uncommon thought. ugh, piss on ignorance.

I'm feeling a bit ranty and need to stop before I right a manifesto here. If you got this far, thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.