It is with immense interest that I’ve been following the conversation that has developing around what is being coined “non breeders,” women my age who have decided not to conceive, or have set out to explain why they are not conceiving. From Meghan Daum’s book Shallow, Selfish and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids to , the conversation has been both deep and contemplative about a new generation of women who are not having children. I respect every single one of these women’s decisions.

As the mother of a 10 and 12 year-old, I have taken great interest for a few reasons. For one thing, no one was having this conversation when I had children. Not that it would have deterred me, that is not my point here in any way. It just wasn’t happening. I had friends who felt this way at the time, but they kept mum out of fear of being questioned. That line of questioning has dissipated today except for possibly aunts, uncles and grandparents who have more traditional points of views.

With the burst of blogging and social media, women are more outspoken than ever before about wanting or not wanting children. It’s perfectly acceptable for women to announce their lack of interest in pursuing children or to explain their reasons for not having children alone. Today I read a piece in New York Magazine called “I Was a Proud Non-Breeder. Then I Changed My Mind.” by Michelle Goldberg. In it she discusses her initial aversion to children that she documented proudly in Salon, which then inspired an anthology titled Maybe Baby. It was divided into three parts: “No Thanks, Not for Me,” “On the Fence,” and “Taking the Leap.”

She and her husband enjoyed their jet-setting lifestyle, She wanted to author books. She didn’t want to interrupt her goals. But while reporting on posthumous reproduction in her 30s, she had a change of heart:

The idea of having kids to stave off the horror of death never resonated with me; I don’t see how you’re any less dead just because your DNA lives on. But children, I suddenly understood, would hedge against the unthinkable fact of my husband’s mortality. Not long ago, I learned the Arabic word Ya’aburnee from a friend’s cheesy Facebook graphic. Literally, “you bury me,” it means wanting to die before a loved one so as not to have to face the world without him or her in it. It’s a word that captures exactly my feeling for my husband. Part of the reason I didn’t want kids was because I feared they’d come between us, but if he were gone, I’d be frantic to hold on to a piece of him. Grasping this didn’t make me want a baby, exactly, but it started pushing me from “no” to, well, ambivalent.

The reason the piece prompted my reaction tonight is because like her, sometimes I feel, when reading these very strong feelings by women about not having kids, that I must defend my own choice to have had them. Like Goldberg, I loved to travel before I had kids. I loved my career. I loved my city existence. I was young, in NYC terms, and I somehow didn’t give as much credence to how much my life would change after having kids.

And it did, I will admit.

But I think that as much pressure as there is on women to have kids and for women to take a stand on the subject, there is as much pressure on women who have kids.

And now there is as much discussion reporting on this subject as the other. Bill de Blasio is proposing national paid family leave. Social media is being used as a place to discuss breastfeeding with hash tag #‎normalizebreastfeeding‬.

All I know is that no one was talking about any of these subjects when I had kids and I felt so very alone. I suddenly found myself living in the suburbs with two babies and felt out of my league. Had I had social media and a place to hear how other women were handling their new chapters with children, it would have been so different.

Yet now with social media, sometimes I do feel like a minority. I’m not that mom who finds everything about motherhood easy and hunky dory, but I’m also not that mom who has ever regretted having kids – not even for a minute.

As with everything today, it’s important to remain true to ourselves. To remember why we made our choices. Choice – that is key to everything.

Follow

The post Diary of a Breeder appeared first on The Culture Mom.

So, when I walked into Encore the other day for my sixth session with Robert, I felt confident and hopeful that I had progressed in the weeks since I’d seen him.

And guess what? I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I’ve lost two of the four pounds I’d gained. I’ve also lost some body fat, and my cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance have shown “phenomenal” progression. I’ve also made progressions especially in the core strength area. The only bad news is that my neuromuscular control is still not it could be – but it will be!

Because you you know what? As a cancer survivor and a multi-tasking mom who can’t seem to DO IT ALL (can any of you – if you can, please do let me know how you manage), I’m happy with my progress. More than happy, to be honest. For the first time in a long time, I look forward to going to the gym. I rode nearly 50 miles in a bike tour around NYC last week. I started swimming laps. I plank on a daily basis.

Since I started training at Encore, I’ve shown myself what I’m capable of doing and I see the potential in my body strength and flexibility. If I keep working on it, progress will come. As my sessions at Encore are nearing the finish line, I see that it’s been a healthy, worthwhile experience seeing Robert at Encore Fitness NYC regularly.

Now I’m ready to start spreading the wealth! So, I’m giving away a free session with Robert at Encore Fitness NY!

To win, just comment below and tell me why you want to win a session at Encore Fitness NY.

About Encore (from their site)

Encore Fitness is a New York City-based private personal training studio. Our clients are given every opportunity and tool to successfuly and safely achieve those fitness goals. Together we can create an individualized program that will challenge and push you to the next level of fitness. Personal training sessions can be held at one of our personal training facilities or in your building’s fitness center. Let us help you get into the best shape of your life. 

Follow

The post Week 6: Middle-Aged Personal Training at Encore Fitness NY and a Giveaway appeared first on The Culture Mom.

I don’t think I truly ever gave motherhood a thought before I stumbled into it 11-1/2 years ago after the birth of my first daughter. I didn’t really know what how much my life would change after having kids. I was very young (in my opinion) when I had my first and I just wanted to do it all.

But I found out quickly that I couldn’t and over the years I’ve made decisions to enable to be a better parent, while not forgoing all my dreams, and unfortunately, I have been judged for them, even here on this blog. My original tag line was “For moms not ready to give up sushi for hot dogs,” meaning I have never wanted to stop pursuing things I’m interested in. While I spend a lot of time with my kids, I like to step out every now and then and see plays, films, catch art exhibits and more. I also travel alone sometimes, going on press trips that enable me to further that part of my career as a writer.

The judgements started getting thrown around as soon as I had kids. It all started when I was making a decision on whether to continue working full time. So many people felt so differently and I felt so conflicted about my own choice. I’ve been accused of doing too much. I’ve also been accused of traveling excessively.

I’ve been judged here, too. Once a post called “The Unintentional Opt Out,” in which I mourned the loss of a job I gave up after having my first child, prompted this response from a reader:

You mention “I” a lot in your blog. (and yes I do know its your blog) but does your husband not have a say? How does he cope when your off gallivanting round the country? I’m sure that if he’s a stay at home dad that it won’t be too much of a problem. But if he’s in full time work how does he balance his life when you’re not there? Having a family is about partnership and understanding. Understanding your other half and your kids and giving them as much support as you can. It looks by what you say in this blog that you go on “jollies” to get away as much as possible, not supporting your family.

Escaping to do the things you do, you should call your blog “culture single mom …. kids looked after by their dad”.

This could not have been further from the truth, and the comment burned, let me tell you. My husband was the first to disagree with the author of the comment. It was even worse when I realized we knew the person (vaguely). I responded the best way I could:

I started this blog because as important as motherhood is to me, I wanted to keep in touch with everything in life I love the most and I love inspiring other parents to do the same. As a parent, you can get caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle and forget about yourself. I never “escape” – rather I include my family in everything that I do. On the rare occasion, I do travel for work or a conference, and I make sure that everything is under control in my absence and that my husband’s work load is not interrupted. He’s very supportive of my career and I of his.

I’ve always been here on my kids. I’ve worked from home so I could have a more flexible schedule, and I’ve taken time out to be at everything over the years. Everything! But the comments continue and I continue to feel judged, while doing the best I can.

Certain parts of my personal life have made it harder to go out recently and I’ve taken measures to go out less and focus on my home life. However, it’s hard to ignore that part of me that seeks and craves stimulation outside the house. So when I mentioned going to a play at the end of the week to someone on the phone last night and was told that I go out too much, avoiding my parental responsibilities, I nearly had a stroke.

Last weekend I went to an amazing lecture at a conference called Binder Com. It was a conference for women who write and one session was called Mothers Writing Motherhood. It was during this session that I listened to other moms just like me, who struggle with the everyday demands of being a mother and pursuing their dreams to be better writers. The session made me realize that I’m not alone in how I feel about being pulled in many directions. So much of what these women said resonated with me but writer Elizabeth Gold said something that remains with me:

“Moms, give yourself permission to get away from your children.”

She called it the “fuck it philosophy”.

Just because a mom wants to pursue what’s meaningful to her – whether it be or career or her interests, it doesn’t mean that we are purposely trying to stay away from our children. It just means that we want to be well-rounded, stimulated individuals who strive for a sense of balance that makes us feel more complete.

There were a lot of comments on that post to the reader I quasi knew that I referenced above (The Unintentional Opt Out), and one in particular resonated with me:

I, like culturemom, feel I made sacrifices in my career in order to be the mom I wanted to be, and sacrifices to my family in order to dream and act big in the world outside my family. My husband argues that we took a hit financially when I decided to work at home/start a business and while he appreciates my contribution as a mom, part of him wishes we had decided that I continue it’s my career and be in a better place financially now. I think that men, like women, struggle in this modern age…And one day we honor the parent in us and the next day (which may be years later) we find ourselves compelled to honor the businessperson in us…or the sexy carefree artist or …one day…. The grateful child. Marriage…parenting…work…life, the only known I can be sure if is that they call cycle…in and out…and if I am going to achieve happiness, I need to be prepared to cycle in and out with them.

I honor the part of me that seeks stimulation and gets satisfaction from events outside the home. The whole idea of this blog was to talk about what I do with my kids, and if you read regularly, you know how much I include my children and how often I am with them. But there is a part of me that needs to get away from time to time, and experience life as I once knew it.

At Binder Com, another woman on that fab panel that resonated me, Julia Fierro, said this:

“After I had children, I felt like I could do anything. There were moments of weakness but also empowerment.”

I feel the same way. Being a parent is empowering and I’ve been able to do things since my children were born I never even knew I could do. I’ve balanced jobs since they were babies. I’ve produced plays. My writing has been published on the Huffington Post and Yahoo Travel. I traveled around Vietnam with a friend. I started this blog which changed my life, and the life of my children.

One more quote from Binder Com, only because you’ll love this one. From Elisa Albert:

“Limitations enable us to define ourselves.”

Parenthood is a juggle and my kids need me more than ever as they get older, not less, and I know that. They’ve always come first and they will continue to forever more. I take my role as a mom very seriously, believe me, and sometimes my plans to pursue my own interests fail and I let them.

As a mom, you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t…from everything to breastfeeding, working, leaving your kids alone, not being there for school events, sending your kids to school sick when you didn’t know they were ill, forgetting to pack lunch. The list goes on.

My suggestion? Don’t judge moms.

Give them credit for doing all they do.

Take a look at the total person.

And the kids.

But really, try not to judge.

We all do our best.

Follow

The post On Being Judged as a Mom appeared first on The Culture Mom.

I’m a huge Spike Lee fan, but in case you were wondering, no, I am not going to be writing or talking about his hit 1988 film School Daze. I’m talking about the daze I’m left in after looking after two tween aged kids for one month straight. Don’t get me wrong, I do cherish this time with them and realize they are short, so please don’t misunderstand or misinterpret me, as some of you often do.

But as a mom who works from home, it’s hard to entertain two kids who still love and crave all my attention. And it’s a lot of work to keep two them content, fed and safe 24/7.  At ages 9 and 11, they’re very techno focused and it takes a lot of work to plan days keeping them out in the sunshine.

It’s hard to keep up! Today I went to a doctor’s appointment without a referral. My daughter’s piano teacher came to the house with my daughter nowhere to be found (she was at a friend’s house). My son’s soccer practice relocated with no email alert and we went galavanting around town looking for his team. I had work deadlines and phone calls and a locker to help decorate at my daughter’s new school (yep, middle school beckons).

I’m a daze, to say the least.

But this video will be me in 8 hours!!!!!!!!!!

Follow

The post School Daze appeared first on The Culture Mom.

I found this video about a WAHM on my friend, Ilana’s, blog tonight. It was inspired by a young woman who quits her job via video dancing around the office she decidedly spent a year of slavery in to the tune of Gone by Kanye West. In the domesticated version (video above), a mom dances around the house she’s expected to clean, in addition to keeping up her work responsibilities. She dances in front of piles of dishes. Trash. Unmade beds.  Flotsam in the sink. And so, like her predecessor , she decides to leave. Only it’s to get milk. Oddly enough, in the comments on You Tube, she is called an irresponsible mother who walks out on her family. On the contrary, she’s going out to get a necessity!

I, on the other hand, usually ask my husband to get the milk.  I’m usually too tired to go myself.

Everyone seems to think  that working from home is the ideal situation for a mom: being home with the kids and making a living.  Sign me up!, they all say, thinking it’s the best of both worlds.

I’ve just returned to an office after a stint at home where I was expected to work and look after my house and family, and my days at work are like a mini vacation.  I actually wrote about this last week so I don’t want to bore you with a repeat, but really, do read my piece called A Return to the Land of the Living. The first day on the job a mere few weeks ago, I skipped out of my house to the train, leaving the daily disruptions behind.

For this mom, going back to work was important.  And I knew that.  Yes, my days are more chock full and I have a lot to manage, but I’m more organized now than I was then. I’m far more productive than I’ve been in a long time.  Go figure because I certainly don’t have as much time as I used to have.

Watch the video! I think I watched it 5-10 times and contributed to her You Tube numbers going up. I’m going to dance around the house now.

The clothes I need to fold? They can wait.

Follow

The post Mom Gone Wild appeared first on The Culture Mom.

Once they were both breastfed and capable of sitting up, I realized I needed to get out of the house and into a setting where I could communicate with adults and share my skills and knowledge that I’d built up over the course of my career.  I re-entered quickly as a consultant into an office three days a week and have managed to keep up steady work over the years, working from home and company offices. The last time I went into an office was precisely 8 or 9 months. I’ve been working from home most of this year, with amazing clients and interesting work, no question.

But I’ve had a gnawing itch to return to an office and I managed to get myself back into one.  The walls in my house were starting to close in on me, and I was anxious to return to the land of the living. I just returned to a job in the city (as in NYC) two weeks ago. Here’s what is so cool about it:

1. The mornings are easier.  It may sound crazy but with me jumping out of bed at 6 or 6:30am to start my day, so are the kids, and we’re all in better moods and more focused on what we all have to do to get out of the house for the day.  There’s a synchronicity that we didn’t have before. When I first went back to work when they were very young, it wasn’t nearly this easy.  They can dress themselves, help with meal preparation, pack their own backpacks.  What a difference.

2. No more sitting around in my sweats. I used to work in my gym clothes, only sometimes I didn’t even make it to the gym because working from home gave me less time than I now get in an office.  There would be interruptions – whether they be phone calls, clothes to put in the dryer or most importantly and most often, deadlines that I had to work around school pick up time. Now I get dressed in clothes (there’s a no jeans policy in my office, I suspect) other than my sweats, and it feels really good.

3. Water cooler conversations. I missed the office chatter. I can’t wait to go to the office to talk about the Emmy’s.  Now I don’t have to do it only on Twitter. And I now love meetings. I love having to prepare for them, I love sitting in a room full of like-minded colleagues.  It’s a newly discovered pang that had to be satiated.

4. I’m back in the city, baby.  Yes, I missed the commute.  I missed having to get on a train. I missed going back and forth.  All the things people crave giving up, I wanted.  I love being back in NYC.  I work across the street from Bryant Park, two blocks from Times Square and it’s wonderful.  Too all of you who complain about commuting, stay home for a while with kids 10 and under.  You’ll want to go back. Oh, and I get to meet my working friends for lunch, many of whom work in the area which is so wonderful I can’t even describe it.

5. I no longer sweat the small stuff. At the end of the day, I am thrilled to be home. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated being home with my kids before, but the days were often long and I surrendered to a lack of patience often.  Now, after being gone all day, and replacing some of my domestic obligations with stimulation, I have my sole attention placed on my family.

There are plenty more reasons why I’m glad to be back.  This is just the beginning.

Follow

The post A Return to the Land of the Living appeared first on The Culture Mom.

Now I’m on the last leg of the tour, and I can’t say that it hasn’t been challenging for my husband. He’s been quite stoic, trying not to complain, letting me do what I have needed to do, but I know it hasn’t been easy. Yesterday morning when I called, he couldn’t find any clean underwear for my son.  For other kids, they’d probably be glad to wear dirty ones.  Not mine. My son is a neat freak and hygiene is everything to him.

As a mom, you try not to feel guilty for missing things, but it’s hard.  Last week I missed my daughter’s clarinet concert.  This trip she lost a tooth. My son graduated from cub scouts.  After I left for the 2nd or 3rd time, my daughter asked my husband why I go away so much.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the the nasty article in The Wall Street Journal on the Mommy Business Trip.  It focused primarily on conferences as a way for moms to escape their daily lives but it was antagonizing enough to make any mom feel guilty about having a balanced work/family life.

But you know what?  I don’t feel guilty for being away. Dads travel for work, and moms are no less than they are.  I do miss my kids and I will be a better mom for it it when I get home. But I won’t lie, it hasn’t been easy.  I got sick for a day on a leg of my trip and wanted to lie in bed all day.  It wore me down and I had to march on despite of feeling lousy. But even then, I checked in at home to make sure all was well.

Here are a few ways I’ve made this easier on my family while I’ve been away:

– I created a schedule for my husband and sitter so nothing would be forgotten.  Did it work?  It never all goes according to plan, but you hope for the best.

– I checked in often and spoke to my kids daily.  Last night my son couldn’t sleep and we spoke for a while. When my daughter’s tooth came out, she called me immediately to let me know.  It may be tooth #14 but it’s still exciting. I really hope that the tooth fairy came, but I can’t blame anyone if she didn’t.

– I gave the babysitter extra money for ice-cream and cabs when necessary. She doesn’t drive so I wanted to make it easy for them when they ventured far from home.  I also planned play dates and made sure their week was fun in my absence.

– I’ve let go of thinking that everything can go according to plan.  How can it when my husband works as hard as he does?  Things will slip, the house will be a mess when I get home, but knowing that everyone was safe and sound and happy is all I need.

I won’t lie – there is no perfect recipe for the success of a mom being away for days at a time.  We do our best. I know there are benefits to being away, too. Being a role model and having a career, and knowing they will one day my own daughter will enter the work force and have the same decisions to make.  That’s what I know.

And now it’s time to go home.

Follow

The post When Mom Goes Away appeared first on The Culture Mom.

And then I had kids.  And believe me, having kids has not deterred my love of travel.  We’ve taken our kids to Europe, traveled through Israel, toured the ruins in Mexico, explored the French country side and Riviera, driven through volcanic lava in Iceland and so much more.  My kids have passports filled with interesting stamps and memories that will take them through life.

But now nine years into parenthood, I’m ready for an adventure.  And I want to have one on my own.  As much as I love traveling with my kids, I need some time to myself.  To be able to roam through alley ways, nip into cafes and stay for hours if I choose to, go to concerts or old movies at night, take long boat rides, hike up mountains, see everything and follow a guide book if I so choose to.  Or just hang out with the locals and wander through markets. Take photos, speak to the natives, find out how they live and see if there is anything I can do to help them live better upon returning to America. That’s what I want to do.  That’s what I need to do.

So, I am. Tomorrow I’m heading to Hong Kong for a few nights and then to Vietnam for a week.  It’s not the ideal amount of time I’d like to spend in another country, especially one as vast and interesting, but I have a lot to come back to. A family to take care of, a business to run, a life that requires my presence.

My family is very supportive. We’ve got our plans in control. We all know things may slide while I’m away, but we’ve got our bases covered and what will be will be. We’ve been planning my departure for several months and everyone is ready.  I’ll leave lists which will ease the process as much as possible, but I’ve learned over the last few years that it’s okay for things to slip while I’m away.  My kids may not make it to Hebrew School one day.  They might wear mis-matched socks.  As long as they are safe, warm (it’s freezing in NY) and happy, that’s all that matters.

But every time I tell someone I’m headed on a solo adventure, they immediately assume I’m traveling on business and how the heck am I leaving my kids?  How can I not be traveling with my husband, and instead, a good girl friend who live across the country? Why is it so shocking, I ask myself, and why is it so unusual?   My kids are now old enough that I know they will be fine.  More than fine.  Nothing will change and when I return, we’ll reunite and believe me, it will be a wonderful reunion. But then life will go on and my trip will become a distant memory.

But it will be my memory of a time where I ventured into the orbit to explore another culture far, far away and traveled the way I wanted to.

And it will be mine.

How have you managed to maintain your passions since having kids?  I’d love to know – please comment below.

Follow

The post Wanderlust is My Drug appeared first on The Culture Mom.

But I also see the value of spending time alone with each child, too.  Giving them individual attention and having one on one conversations and experiences together.  They need this time just as much as I do, particularly after spending so much time together at the end of the summer like we are now.  School doesnt’ start until September 6th or 7th in the Northeast and there is a lot of time to fill and they can start to grate on each other’s nerves.

So yesterday I took a look at my 9 year-old daughter and decided that she needed some time away from the family – with me.  Every now and then, the two of us venture out and do something we enjoy and I decided it was time for some retail therapy.  She had been dying to go to the store Justice and I had been avoiding the trip out of fear over what I would see in the store – expecting both glitzy, expensive clothes.  She jumped at the chance to spend time together.

Our trip to Justice consisted of me telling her to show me anything she liked, and her saying back, “No, you show me what you want me to wear,” sensing my skepticism for the line.  We managed to find a new backpack, two shirts, a skirt and a lap desk.  She was thrilled.  Thank god – I couldn’t buy anything else in the store.  It all seemed like very poor quality and incredible tacky.  But what do I know?  According to her, we don’t have the same taste.  She’s probably lucky that it’s different (I don’t have the best taste of style, never have, well, maybe I did 10 years ago).

Unfortunately, while we were out, my son, who hasn’t been speaking to me very nicely lately, was apparently acting out.  My husband couldn’t understand it.  He didn’t’ want to eat, he didn’t want to go anywhere.  He was upset the whole day.

When I got home, I tried to get to the bottom of it all and it was very simple.  My son was jealous about my spending time alone with his sister. He was jealous that we’d been to the mall.  He was jealous that she got a new backpack and he hasn’t got a new one yet.

I realized that he also needs time with me alone.  First I took him into the yard to toss balls around.  Eventually, it was a family affair and not very intimate.  So, at 7:30, I announced that I wanted to go for a swim.  My son was the only one who took me up on it.  And it ended up being exactly what he needed – time with me.  That was it. We raced across the pool several times.  We jumped in over and over, and he watched me dive and studied my posture.  We took long, hot showers and used gels and shampoos from the hotels we stayed in last week.

Some of the bad behavior is clearly at the root of my ongoing dilemma of striking a balance. How do I do everything that I need to do for myself, which includes going back to work fulltime, and doing everything I need to do for my kids and husband and living a balanced life?  I’m not sure, and I’m still trying to figure it out.  It seems to be an ongoing theme in my life lately and I wrote about it recently on Kidzvuz.  I’ve written about it here and I’ll keep writing about it until I get it right.  I have time.

Meanwhile, I think I’ll go read Lisa Belkin’s Life’s Work: Confessions of an Unbalanced Mom….

Follow

The post Balance. My Daily Struggle. appeared first on The Culture Mom.

I’ve been reading all the comments on Facebook, Twitter and all over the social media world.  The headline is stirring up issues of  breastfeeding, parental rights, child advocacy and media sensationalism, to name a few. I would definitely say that the magazine has achieved its goals of reaching the ultimate amount of publicity and dollars in a single day.

When I first saw the cover, I didn’t know what to think.  I’m a huge breastfeeding proponent, so that’s not what my shock was about.  I admit that I stopped breastfeeding both my kids at 12 months and would never go far as the blogger featured in the photo, Los Angeles-based stay-at-home mother Jamie Lynne Grumet, 26.  Apparently, her own mom breastfed her until she was 6.

Well, you know what, that’s her prerogative, I have nothing wrong with that.  To each her own.  Breastfeeding a child that late is not for me, but for millions of other moms, and breastfeeding is a choice, like all the others one I have in life.  I have vivid memories of my friends and family members who were not able to breastfeed their babies and how agonizing it was for them, and it’s not certainly not fair to pass judgement on any of us for bottle feeding our children. Like I said, breastfeeding was for me, but I never once told any other mother that is was the only choice and no mother should be made to feel guilty about how they fed their child ever.

What also bothers me is why Time Magazine has chosen to put this image and headline that don’t go together on their cover the weekend of Mother’s Day when it has little to do with the article referred on the cover.  To drive sales, perhaps?  Well, that’s obvious.

But it hurts.  Doesn’t the world understand already that being a mother is one of the most life-changing experiences of our lives?  Motherhood is the best kind of responsibility but with it comes choices.  Everyday there are decisions to make about what my children are eating, who is taking care of them while I’m at work, who they’re spending time with, how to find time for their homework and activities, keeping them safe and so much mre.  And these are no one’s decisions but my own (made jointly with my husband).  Mothers have to make decisions and they aren’t easy ones, and it’s not fair for anyone to judge us.

And that’s this magazine cover does.  It pits moms against each other.  It makes us look at each other and compare ourselves, wondering are we really good enough?  And that’s not fair.

Being a mom is the best job in the world, so let us go do our work.

Follow

The post Happy Anti-Mother’s Day from Time Magazine appeared first on The Culture Mom.