She's Shocked Readers Are Shocked?

Last week there was an article published in London which caused quite a flap in the blogosphere, because the author baldly asserted she was "bored rigid by her children," and went on about her desire to escape time with her sons in great detail.

I didn't bother to link to it or comment at the time, as I felt that the article was deliberately provocative in order to engender the reaction it received, and also because I felt the author's point of view was so pathetic that it wasn't worth the bandwith to comment. It seemed like yet another case of a newspaper printing something that really should have been between the author and her therapist, rather than shared with the public. Broadcasting her lack of feeling for her sons to the general public is yet one more example of her "me first" behavior.

I do find it rather interesting that the author now claims to be "shocked" by the response engendered by her article, but perhaps it's not all that surprising after all, given her self-centered attitude. (She says that her husband, who refused to be interviewed, was "not happy" about her article. Hmmmm.)

The strange thing about her essay is that she seems to think she's making an argument for women to have their own interests beyond parenting, and that she's making an argument against raising spoiled, overindulged children. Those goals might be acceptable on the surface, but that's not what the article is really about. Rather, she goes to such bizarre extremes, railing about how tedious and boring her children are, that one can only feel very sorry for her unwanted sons...and for her, not realizing the treasures she has in her children. She comes across as spoiled and overindulged -- the very things she claims to be preventing in her children -- and, funnily enough, she sounds rather boring.

She says, "Frankly, as long as you've fed them, sheltered them and told them they are loved, children will be fine."

She may have told them she loves them, but has she showed them? Based on her own words, it appears not.

Wouldn't it be interesting to see how she and her sons relate to one another a couple decades hence...

More commentary in a sidebar at USA TODAY.