Okay, now I thought the whole mom-bloggin' empire was built on the idea that motherhood isn't all soft-lit tender moments and rosy outlook, but I guess this continues to be a newsflash. Winifred Robinson wrote an essay basically saying, "Hey, sometimes I don't like being a mom cuz it sucks at times" she included the usual "I wouldn't trade it for anything" but yes, she was clear that it can be brutal hard work too. And she also said something I think gets neglected: For some of us, motherhood is a bucket of cold water in the face because we were used to feeling capable and good at life, and that feeling often gets sucked right out of you with the first nursing, and doesn't come back for a loooong time.
But of course her post drew some criticism, along with the gratitude of other moms. There's the whole crowd that says, "If you hate being a mom so much, why have babies?" Lemme tell you, if complaining about something being hard meant you shouldn't do it, I basically would not be able to function in the world. And then there's this whackadoo group that criticizes people for having children at all. They often appear on blogs devoted to parenting and slam the folks there for having children as accessories, blah blah blah. Now, I don't think anyone should feel obligated to spawn, and I appreciate the environmental impact and so on. But going onto parenting essays and blogs and such and critiqueing people for making babies feels so weirdly righteous and, let's face it, if you want to sway people, telling parents not to procreate is catching the whole thing a little late.
