good start to the school year/weighing in on the mommy wars

M came home happy from school. He told me with excitement about a toy he'd played with. This is a big relief.

All the fuss about Palin and her five kids has the blogosphere in an uproar. I'll come back to her. Here's what happened with us.

We had M with his dad all day at 6 weeks and I pumped. And I ran home at 4pm each day from work so his dad could go to school. People at work mostly understood my need to pump. There were days when I was expected to sub in a class without lesson plans--about half the time I'd say--extremely stressful for schedules changing and roomless I would sometimes have to beg a space to pump. Sometimes my colleagues were sweet and sometimes when I was forthcoming about my needs they were quite the opposite. I think that it is difficult to judge someone on their parenting until you walk in their shoes.

That said, I think this woman is an actress and beauty queen who does not stand for women or stand up for women. ANYONE who mocks community organizing as she and Giuliani did in their speeches should be smitten by the next lightning bolt. It seems that her everyday people act does not hold consistent with their plans to keep the rich rich and good luck to everyday people.

One more thought on the mommy thing: aren't mothers different? At 6 weeks I cried to leave M. These last few years I have been at his side for tons of tests and a surgery and there is no way that his dad would have been as comforting or anyone else. I will stop there because many people may have had different experiences, but for me nothing trumps the comfort of mama being there (and her breast milk) at a young age during traumatic moments. Isn't it weird how they are using the woman card to say that she is shattering a glass ceiling. As mothers everywhere know, you do give up somethings either way. . .But leaving a child with special needs at 3 days old?