In her article “I Look Down on Young Women With Husbands and Kids and I’m Not Sorry”
Amy Glass questions motherhood and career women and whether these roles are
equivalent. In her article she asks “Do people really think that a stay at home
mom is really on equal footing with a woman who works and takes care of
herself?” Her response is “these two
things are never the same.”
Before my days as
a “stay-at-home mom” when I was young and carefree and focused only on me and
my schoolwork and my career, I thought much like Amy Glass. After jumping into my luxury vehicle, I would fly off to the nearest coffee shop on my way to class, after dropping my
oldest off to Pre-K, and would scoff at the stay-at-home moms with their perfect
clothes, hair, teeth, and trendy strollers.
These ladies always appeared so stressed out and I couldn’t (for the
life of me) understand why. After all, they
only had to roll out of bed, put on make-up, look pretty and sip coffee while
their children attend circle time or whatever the latest fad was for young children. At least that is what I thought.
What I didn’t know
was that life would happen and I would be in the same shoes as these very women
I turned my nose at and would quickly learn that being a “stay-at-home-mom” (a
term I still loath because of the negativity associated with it) was no “walk
in the park.” I did not roll out of bed,
put on make-up, look pretty and sip coffee while my daughter’s attended circle
time or whatever the latest fad was for girls their age. I struggled out of bed, made meals, play
dates, activities, and birthday parties while struggling and worrying about losing
my identity and my future as a career woman. There were many sleepless nights where I would
lay in bed constantly worrying about whether I would ever be the “old” Kelli
again.
Now, that I have
returned to work and have been on both sides of the fence, I remember to smile
at these women and am grateful to my own mom who gave up plenty to care for me
and my siblings - Thanks mom! While I
think Tucker Carlson calling Glass “another boring entitled rich girl
who’s frustrated with the emptiness of her life” is extreme (I can’t speak for
her personal life), I do think her article screams ignorance and inexperience.
I am truly a believer in our 1st amendment and having the
right to speak freely, but I think before
Amy Glass can discuss the equality of the roles women play - she should first take a walk on the other
side of the fence and experience what it is like to wear a different hat as a
woman. Because she might be surprised at
what she finds out. At least I was.
