(If you don't follow my flagship blog, Breakfast at Tiffany's, you may not be aware of my political leanings. This post ought to give you a clue...)
I've been watching the news media swirl around Sarah Palin, as they've spent the past two weeks trying to figure out how they were going to attack her. And it intrigues me that one of the areas they have chosen to attack is the idea that Palin returned to work only days after the birth of her last child.
Quite honestly, folks, if this is the biggest concern they can find about this woman, they're trying waaaaay too hard.
First of all, Palin had the flexibility in her job necessary to be able to facilitate caring for her child while attending to her duties as governor. What's wrong with that?
Second, Palin has a terrific family and supportive husband. It's not like she's in this baby-raising business by herself. If a man returned to work earlier than what society deems as the norm, would he be similarly criticized?
And finally, this is Palin's fifth child. She certainly knows her own body well enough by this point to know what she can physically handle. And I'd have to say that she's one tough cookie from all of what I've seen.
I think I'd like to be a Sarah Palin kind of mom. I won't be heading back to my full-time job right after Spoiled Baby arrives, but I do intend to return to my writing commitments within about a week. There's no reason why I can't balance nurturing my child with sitting at my laptop for a few hours a day. My own husband is betting that I will end up cutting short the time I've planned to take off from my full time job, knowing full and well that I prefer to be on the go, but also trusting in my ability to balance that versus caring for my child.
And you know what? No matter how soon I return to my writing, or to my full time job, I am not a bad person...or a bad mother. Life is about finding the right balance for your own circumstances. Sarah Palin obviously realizes this...and so do I.
While there are some people that focus on when Gov. Palin went back to work, I find that people paying more attention focus on aspects of how trustworthy she is, how much of a reformer she really is, and her fiscal policies.
ReplyDeleteShe hired a lobbyist to work for her in Washington when she mayor of a town of 6,700 people.
She said she was against the bridge to nowhere, but initially, she was for it, and only came out against it after it was dead in congress and she managed to divert the funds from the bridge to nowhere to other projects in Alaska.
I just don't believe that she can be trusted, that she will bring reform to Washington, or do anything meaningful against pork barrel politics.
Well, I say amen to Sarah Palin and amen to you as her follower. You are so right in that she seems to have the "mother thing" down. She obviously is a fast study, which makes be think she'll pick up VP duties quickly too. Good luck to you on balancing baby and writing!
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