I Would Trade My Husband For a What?

So, I've gotten caught up in the new book entitled, "I Would Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper". The two (obviously)female authors were on Oprah the other day and while I agree with their sentiment, that motherhood is THE toughest job out there, I can think of lots of other things I might need before a housekeeper--a nanny, a cook, and an organizer, are just a few!

But in all seriousness, I have been blessed with a wonderful husband. One who doesn't mind getting dirty in the trenches with me and who is always encouraging me to take some time for myself. The only problem with all of this is I cannot because I suffer from this self-defeating, invasive disease known as GUILT! No one told me that motherhood encompassed a WORLD filled with guilt. Guilt if I want to eat; guilt if I want to take a shower or sleep or talk on the phone for 10 minutes, or Heaven forbid, go to the bathroom--ALONE!!! As moms, we can experience guilt in just about any situation. It is for this reason, that I cannot simply "ditch" my kids with my wonderful husband for an afternoon of carefree shopping or to sleep away the morning. Instead, I find myself resenting how easily HE is able to get away for a little bit--completly and utterly guilt free! How dare he!

Oh and we don't just feel the guilt that we put on ourselves, we get this guilt from everywhere and everyone. We get it for the choices we make and the choices we don't make. Critics are lurking among topics of breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding; working outside the home vs. staying at home; co-sleeping vs. independent sleeping, etc. Really, we are our own worst enemies. Instead of saying, well this works best for THIS mom, so that's cool, we (and by "we" I mean everyone-other moms, the media, etc) feel the need to critique and second guess each other. Since motherhood is indeed the toughest, roughest job we'll ever take on, we should be supporting each other not just in the choices we've made, but in overcoming this war on guilt. We should encourage each other to get away for a few moments without feeling that our children will surely end up psychologically damaged; or that it is okay to leave our children in the care of (ghast!) someone other than family members for a little while. Moms need to recharge just like anyone else, and we'll all be happier for it, because as the saying goes, "if mamma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

So, in closing, I would NOT trade my husband for a housekeeper; I'll just let him do the housekeeping while I sleep--without feeling one once of guilt! :-)