Joy. Happiness. Enthusiasm. Wonder Mom's have it all. And the media/retail companies would like to make you think so. I woke up around 1 a.m. to my son crying and my husband giving a frustrated sigh and throwing the baby into my arms. I consoled him for about an hour before he finally fell asleep. He was fed, he was changed, his blankets and pacifier were adjusted "just so" but to no avail....he continued to be upset. My son...not my husband ;). (badumpbump!...stick around...I'm here all night!)
Somehow during my efforts to return my son to slumber I was capable of conjuring up visions of the most recent parent I saw on packaging. It was a calm and happy woman watching her baby sleep from afar on the packaging to his baby mobile. She was dressed in a comfy robe, had a smile on her face, and looked like she'd just had her make up done with a clean ponytail coiff.
I reflected on how I must look during this moment in life. Here I was, in my grey velour jogging suit...on the heavy side...hair pulled back into a lump on the top of my head with last nights makeup on that I was entirely way too tired to wash off. Mascara lined the underside of my eyelids and highlighted the dark circles/bags perfectly.
Why did it matter at 1 a.m.? Why, with an impending blizzard closing in on our locale, with my son fussing, and my five year old crying about how she didn't want to take more tylenol for her fever (FYI we're all sick during this as well...uber lovely) did it even occur to me?? Because the current state of affairs were opposite of what I'd seen recently portrayed to me as the "norm." Research shows that suggestion via these methods of marketing is high. Could this method of marketing be detrimental to our health? Could companies responding to mothers from a retail standpoint selling us everything under the sun to make our lives easier and lighten the burden of mothering really be pushing us into depression, guilt, self-loathing, etc? I think the question deserves some attention...but @ 2:50 in the a.m. I can't really get into all that. Definitely a blog post for the future however...stay tuned. I'll be trying to sleep...if my family will allow that ;).
Sleep is illusive at times, and that I think is why the nap was invented! I doubt any of us look as rested as portrayed in the media, including the commercials for ultra soft mattresses which promise all of us a good nights sleep...
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