These do-it-all supermoms are setting
a bad example
By Beth Teitell
Thursday, May 6, 2004
I was Mother's Day shopping at the bookstore (for my mother and mother-in-law, not for myself - not yet, anyway) when I felt the urge to bolt.
Why, on Mother's Day, do moms have to read about . . . other mothers? Particularly those who are wiser, calmer, richer, slimmer - and in the position to hire stylists?
On Father's Day, dads get golf and fishing books. No shoving Father Knows Best literature down his throat.
Meanwhile, we're being targeted by ``The Perfect Wife: the Life and Choices of Laura Bush'' and ``Buddhism for Mothers.'' ``The Knitting Sutra'' - why?
Pity-poor mom, already overburdened, having to feign joy over Cokie Roberts' latest ``Day''-driven bestseller? (``Founding Mothers'').
Why rub mom's face in the wisdom of other mothers? Shouldn't ``The Tao of Mom,'' with its quotes on courage and compassion and selflessness, fall under the category of continuing education?
What mother deserves ``Confessions of a Slacker Mom?'' What woman in her right mind, or even out of it, wants to read about a mother who by her own admission is cutting corners on the domestic drudgery while managing to land a book contract?
That's not a gift, it's an opening shot.
If that's not enough to do mom in, this might: ``I Love Being a Mom,'' edited by Kelly Ripa, with contributions by Courtney Thorne-Smith, Jamie Lynn DeScala (also known as Meadow) and Melissa Rivers. (Joan's maternal message: ``When one door shuts, another door opens.'')
What's wrong with flowers? Or a card? Or . . . some time to herself? That's what mom wants most, according to one poll.
But here's another idea: How about time with her kids - while the laundry and the dishes magically do themselves? As ``The Tao of Mom'' puts it:``The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow; the rainbow won't wait while you do the work.''
Fine, if you want to play like that, here's the deal: On Mother's Day, mom gets to enjoy time with her children, and come Monday, no one points fingers if their pants have grass stains.
Mom was too busy pointing out the rainbow to worry about Shout.
