Mother's Little Helper

Post Mother's Day thoughts. A few weeks ago the TV program 20/20 did a spot on mothers who abuse alcohol and as usual with TV they highlighted only the dramatic details of devil fire water but didn't really deal with the issues of why these women turn to alcohol to help them cope with the stresses of motherhood. The media, in this post Woman's Lib Era, seems to want to put the glam into motherhood and almost want to canonize famous women who embrace motherhood by not only having their own but adopting children from every third world nation on the planet but never seem to adopt a child from their own homeland. What the media doesn't tell or show is the fact that these women, being rich and famous, have "HELP"! They have nannies and servants to deal with the demands of child care, so they can continue their own brilliant careers. But the average woman must wing this job alone. And raising children is a JOB! A job that is 24/7! And it can be alienating and frustrating and so demanding that a woman can get so lost with meeting the demands of her children, she forgets to take care of her own needs, I use to work with children,. While in college I was a teacher's aide and I loved working with the children but damn; it was the most exhausting work I ever done. I would be so joyful, that after work I could go home, relax, read, study and enjoy alone time, but the mother's of these kids have no evening down-time! All the women on the program, were married and they all seem to suffer from an emotionally detached relationship with their husbands. Little wonder they drink! One needs to be praised and petted for doing a good job but what praises do mother's get? One holiday a year? I recall the big news story of a young woman, who when asked why she left her husband and small child to run off with another married man, she stated that she felt no one would really miss her. My heart broke for her, for you could see, she truly felt that she had no feelings of self-worth within her own family, We all need to feel important! That the work we do in our family does have value and that we our loved! I admire women such as Bohemian Mom, who cope with the stress of single-motherhood, with art and poetry, Art and poetry is hard to do when one minds is on bills and everyday living. So, what is this all about, Hug your mother and thank her everyday! Mothers of the world I lift my glass of champagne to you!