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| That’s me…sitting in my lap of luxury. |
What a crazy afternoon! Instead of nap time today, a cameraman from NBC Nightly News came to my house with lights, camera, and some action to get my opinion on the “Mommy Wars” debate. SO not the typical day in the Smith household. (See the clip here or watch below.)
The reporter came to talk about the latest Stay-At-Home vs. Working Mom controversy which erupted on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 last night when democratic strategist, Hilary Rosen, said that Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, had “never worked a day in her life” and didn’t understand the economic realities of most American women.
I know the Romneys might have a car elevator in their beach house, but I still believe Ann worked extremely hard raising 5 sons. I think Hilary was dead wrong…and I’m a liberal. I can only wonder what conservative women are saying.
As I am about to have baby #4 next month, I realize how hard I work everyday because I have chosen to stay at home with my kids. My husband and I have made too many sacrifices to count but it is all worth it to us. Sure we’d like a new car, but we want a new baby even more. But that’s us. It’s our choice and may not be right for everyone.
As for not understanding the economic outlook because I’m not in the working world, that’s just not true! I am acutely aware of money going out simply because I’m not bringing money in. Every time I go to the grocery store or meet a friend for coffee or write out the preschool tuition check, I think about now it will affect my family’s bottom line. I think most moms who don’t work outside the house probably feel the same way, even if they are in families with more means than mine.
The bottom line is that stay-at-home moms do work…HARD…and we’re not all rich either. We understand what’s going on in the world, and contrary to what people like Hilary Rosen believe, we don’t live in some cloistered bubble that would keep us from being a good advisor to our husbands. Don’t underestimate the value, importance, and votes that us “non-working” moms can bring.
See Hilary Rosen’s comments that ignited this most recent Mommy Wars fire storm below:
Great job Maria!
Sounds like a blog post to me, Aleksandra! 🙂 There are no easy jobs!
Great post Maria. I think lesson here is that we need to stop judging other people. We ALL work hard and we are all counting nickels and pennies and worrying about the economy. No matter is you are a stay at home mom or a working parent we share the same struggles as a parent. Every family is different and we need to respect that. I think Hilary Rosen statement is not only irresponsible but extremely damaging to all those stay at home moms out there that work hard to care for their families.
It is crazy how that statement was blow out of proportion. I’m kind of glad – it sparks some good conversations! I think both stay at home parents and working parents are valuable. I’m a working mom, and what always annoys me is that WE don’t get enough recognition in this whole debate. We work full time AND grocery shop, do laundry, clean house, iron, cook meals from scratch (at least I do every night) and spend what precious time we have interacting with and educating our children.
I love what Aleks had to say! You look amazing on the news Maria!