In case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last week, Amy Chua wrote this article for The Wall Street Journal talking about how awesome, excuse me, “superior” Chinese mothers are for demanding perfection from their children.
It’s almost like she is that obnoxious girl in your philosophy class in college who says stuff just so people will look at her and if she’s lucky, argue with her. Because if you remember this girl in your class, that’s all she wanted. To argue about anything and to have people look at her. So good for you Amy Chua, people are looking at you with your Ivy League education and concert pianists daughters and feeling sorry for all of you. Yay.
Then in the midst of me trying not to make eye contact with Amy Chua (dang it, I hate even talking about her because I know it’s what that girl in my class LIVED for,) I came across this article.
An article written by Melodie of Breastfeeding Moms Unite! on why she is giving up blogging– as in quitting. Cold turkey. For good. I haven’t known of Melodie very long, but from her blog and the things I’ve heard about her on twitter, she is a woman who in the midst of doing her best to help other women, got a little too busy. (And who among us HASN’T?)
Moms suffer from all kinds of guilt. The Working Mom feels guilty for leaving her kids with someone else all day, The Stay-At-Home-Mom feels guilty for wishing she was at work or not keeping a perfect house, or losing it with her kid when they bring her a fistful of poop… No? Just me? My bad. (Sadie’s bad, actually.)
I applaud Melodie for laying it out there for all of us. For saying, in essence, ” ‘Ya know what? Blogging has taken a higher precedence than it should, so I quit. I will put first things first.”
Can’t we blog and spend time on social media without being totally consumed by it? (See, I’m taking a break from blogging RIGHT NOW to read with my 4-year-old. She just walked up to me and said, “Momma, teach me how to read.” Three books later, and I’m back. She doesn’t know how to read, yet but we’re working on it. The post has taken me three days to write it because I’ve been dealing with my family, with life.)
I’m a mother but I’m also a freelance writer, humor columnist and author. I work from home. I actually work from home. I write. I clean. I kiss boo-boos. And it’s hard. Sometimes I feel like I’m neglecting my work, sometimes I feel like I’m neglecting my kids.
Did you read these articles? What are your thoughts?
I didn't read the Tiger Mother article but I did hear it discussed on GMA. I have a feeling that when her daughters get to college, they will be party,party girls. She is one of those mothers who will wonder why her daughters have absolutely nothing to do with her as they get older. I applaud Melodie for realizing that her children do come first…..she wants to spend time with them. Her kids will grow up and love their mother for the walks and the board games. And your kids will love you for the books you read and for the warm blankets. Enjoy your blog
Yes, I read Amy Chua's article – don't tell her that. Truth is, I have a LOT of Asian friends, who can relate pretty well to it. They weren't allowed to do certain things, and were required to have certain grades…and you know what? They're no better than me out here in the real world.
I didn't have a strict mother, but she loved me 'til the ends of the earth. I learned about having a good heart and a strong work ethic from her…which is way more important than playing the stupid violin.*
*Ok, so we actually took violin lessons…and piano lessons…and dance/art/voice/acting lessons. But that's really not the point I'm making here. I think it's important to expose your children to the arts – without necessarily expecting them to perform at Carnegie Hall.
My thought is that this has made me love you even more.
I'm sick today. Just spent the morning in bed with my girls snuggling in with me and playing around in my bedroom with each other. Got up, said to my husband "I'm glad I can take the day off and not pressure myself to blog just because I'm home from work." Sat down to look at twitter after 2-3 days. Saw your tweet about my post. Read your post. had to comment. Thank you. The support and the fact that my post has touched so many people has made quitting quite worth it. I was so afraid of a backlash and criticism. I was afraid I would be guilted back into blogging, but it has been nothing of the sort. It is nice to turn on the computer and spend 10 minutes on it instead of two hours. Thanks for the best 10 minutes of my computer time today.