Don't Know How She Does It
Last weekend, I spent an afternoon as a mommy imposter. I was carrying SK's three-month old baby in Mango while the real mom shopped for clothes to fit her newly-regained figure. And boy, it was fun. People came up to me and smiled, thinking it was my baby. They must have been wondering: how does she do it - have a child and not sport a hint of mommy-hips?
Ah, but I wasn't the only one faking it. In a way, aren't all glam career moms faking it as well - frantically juggling too many responsibilities and, at the same time, making it look like they're handling it just fine?
Few days ago, I met one of those alluring women you shelf under the "I don't know how she does it" category. An eloquent and chic forty-something woman who has (get this!) eight children, a powerful job that takes her all over the world and the figure of someone who gyms a lot. If she's frazzled by all that her life asks of her, it is not showing.
Eight. Children.
And then you hear of those "damsel-in-distress" types, educated women who quit their jobs after childbirth and, even with a live-in maid, always look harrassed and over-stretched. How come some people handle it so well, or appear to - and others not?
And where do you and I fall, on this spectrum of sisterhood?
My favourite book last year was, incidentally, "I Don't Know How She Does It", by Allison Pearson. It has been called the career mom's version of Bridget Jones' Diary, and rightly so. You get an insider's peek into the funny world of a successful London investment banker, who haplessly tries to balance her work, children, marriage and sniping mother-in-law.
Word is that this best-seller caused scores of moms to quit their jobs when their guilt machines went into over-drive.
SK never read that book, but I figured she fears being called a bad mom much more than being called a bad journalist. She announced, over tea, that she was delaying her return to the world of journalism yet again. Hmm.
Ah, but I wasn't the only one faking it. In a way, aren't all glam career moms faking it as well - frantically juggling too many responsibilities and, at the same time, making it look like they're handling it just fine?
Few days ago, I met one of those alluring women you shelf under the "I don't know how she does it" category. An eloquent and chic forty-something woman who has (get this!) eight children, a powerful job that takes her all over the world and the figure of someone who gyms a lot. If she's frazzled by all that her life asks of her, it is not showing.
Eight. Children.
And then you hear of those "damsel-in-distress" types, educated women who quit their jobs after childbirth and, even with a live-in maid, always look harrassed and over-stretched. How come some people handle it so well, or appear to - and others not?
And where do you and I fall, on this spectrum of sisterhood?
My favourite book last year was, incidentally, "I Don't Know How She Does It", by Allison Pearson. It has been called the career mom's version of Bridget Jones' Diary, and rightly so. You get an insider's peek into the funny world of a successful London investment banker, who haplessly tries to balance her work, children, marriage and sniping mother-in-law.
Word is that this best-seller caused scores of moms to quit their jobs when their guilt machines went into over-drive.
SK never read that book, but I figured she fears being called a bad mom much more than being called a bad journalist. She announced, over tea, that she was delaying her return to the world of journalism yet again. Hmm.
posted by Erica Tay at 10:35 PM
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