Blog - Part 69

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?)

This article is so, so wonderful, because like all good writing, it is completely honest. Unlike Amy Chua who is bound and determined to prove why she is “superior,” Melodie humbly lays out her own faults. I mean, she really bares it all and talks about how while writing and blogging about her values, she ran out of time to live them.

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.”

I think we can have both. Can’t we encourage our kids in the talents God has given them without being slave drivers? I don’t care if I have a Tiger Woods… actually, I’m about 150% positive I don’t want to raise the next Tiger Woods. God help us all.

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.

Maybe my blog will never have corporate sponsorships that will pay for my kids to go to Harvard. I don’t really care. I’m not aiming for perfection in every area of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m giving my best at everything I do, be it writing or parenting. But sometimes I have to cut my kids some slack. Sometimes I have to cut myself some slack.

I’d like to thank Melodie for encouraging me to keep my focus on the most important thing in my life: my family. And I’d like to continue to ignore Amy Chua. (I’m NOT looking at her.)

Did you read these articles? What are your thoughts?

Robin’s Chicks Weekly Column

Emma Said: Spiky Skin

Parenting in the Blogosphere

MLK Flashback

Scripture Memorization with Beth Moore