I feel somewhat guilty for not blogging much about my kids, other than how this relates to the work/life balance. Part of it is related to privacy. A bigger reason is that I haven’t really found much to say. It hasn’t been for lack of trying. I thought I would have a lot to add to the saturated world of “mom” blogs. I started many, many drafts but rarely get past first drafts. I’ve also realized that every possible mom-related niche is taken. Working Mom. Stay Home Mom. Feminist Mom. Happy Mom. Ranting Mom. Design Mom. Simple-living slacker mom. You get the picture…
Now that I’ve read “Operating Instructions” by Anne Lamott, I think my guilt has been lifted. Written before the advent of blogs (1989), the author chronicles the first crazy year of her son’s life. Much has been said about it but it really is the original “mom” blog and very funny, poignant and true.
My parenting experience is very different from Anne Lamott’s. She was a single mom/writer raising a son in Northern California, supported by an extended group of family and friends. I have a husband and a steady income. However, parenthood is a binding experience. You sort of feel like war vets who have been “in the trenches” together.
True, I haven’t capture the minutiae of my particular experience but I think everything was said in her book so I don’t have to say it again. To quote:
At birth: “He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. He was like moonlight.”
On parental love: “Now there is something that could happen that I could not survive: I could lose Sam [her son]. I look down into his staggeringly lovely little face, and I can hardly breathe sometimes. He is all I ever wanted…I feel that he has completely ruined my life, because I just didn’t care all that much.”
On sleepless nights: “Sam sleeps for four hours at a stretch now, which is one of the main reasons I’ve decided to keep him.”
There’s a lot more that I can quote from the book, but I highly recommend reading it during pregnancy or before you even have kids!
