Remember books? And: what do you REALLY think about moms?

[stoney321]

I've spent the past fews days reminding myself how good it feels to hold paper in my hands. Got a copy of 2003 Best American NonRequired Reading, edited by Dave Eggers, one of my faves. Good stuff. Some Lynda Barry, Dave Sedaris, even some Onion reporting. I loved this:
"The ideal reader cannot sleep when holding the writer he was meant to be with." I can think of 4 writers to whom I am their bitch.

And: "To think of oneself as the perfect receptacle for an artwork is one of the few wholly benign human vanities."

Now: SangueUK had a brilliant thought that has stuck with me for days: "it seems motherhood has replaced the pastoral myth." I totally agree. We're in a baby boom here in the States, and I wonder why. As a mom, well, at times there is a daily struggle to figure out who I am. Mother? Just me? What the hell does that mean? A lot of times it's a love/hate relationship. A lot of times I feel cheated out of being me.

For those of you who are moms, what do you think about it? Be honest: motherhood is 20 percent greatness and 80 percent shit, sometimes literally. For those who aren't mothers: why? (And I fully support those decisions, btw.) I'm interested in your disillusionment, or your utter joy.

Feel free to vent or praise or sneer.

Comments

I know what you mean

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I'd say most times I love it. I got married and had kids young, too (22). If I get too much free time I start to think about where I would be if I hadn't gotten married (then divorced with 2 babies) then married again. WHat if's are the plague of my life. I'd be something fantastic if I didn't have them, but then I'll see my son stretched out in the sun, long brown legs casually crossed at the ankle, and he'll smile up at me. Or the unexpected arms thrown around your neck and a kiss to the cheek... And I don't feel so cheated. You know?