11 Mar 2011 05:14:03
"We are tired," writes Meeker, who has four children. "We are trying to do too much, too well... (We) compete with other mothers and compete with ourselves. The problem is, none of us feels as though we're winning. In short, we've gone off the deep end."
So Meeker, author of the parenting books "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters" and "Boys Should Be Boys," now presents "The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity."
She acts as both cheerleader and coach, celebrating what she sees as the intrinsic goodness of mothers even as she points out where many have gone astray.
It's hard to argue with her recommendations for making moms happier. Maintain key friendships, ditch the "frenetic mother culture" of competition, live simply, let go of fear, have faith in people and God, develop a healthy attitude about money, etc. And then there's what she calls the greatest secret to happiness: hope. "None of us lives with enough hope," she writes.
In some cases, like her suggestion to carve out time for peace and solitude, she gives moms permission to do things many of them would probably love to do anyway. Other ideas, like cutting back on expectations for children and loving them more as they are, might be harder.
In our tight economy, some moms might roll their eyes when Meeker suggests they might work a day or two less a week or hire an assistant if their jobs interfere with a good home life. Most moms can get along without the pool or the second home, Meeker says. No kidding, Doc.
Still, just about any mom, or dad, can find useful wisdom in this book. Meeker acknowledges that she isn't a perfect mom herself — she's a "slowly recovering obsessive worrier" — but she certainly points her readers in the right direction.
So Meeker, author of the parenting books "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters" and "Boys Should Be Boys," now presents "The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity."
She acts as both cheerleader and coach, celebrating what she sees as the intrinsic goodness of mothers even as she points out where many have gone astray.
It's hard to argue with her recommendations for making moms happier. Maintain key friendships, ditch the "frenetic mother culture" of competition, live simply, let go of fear, have faith in people and God, develop a healthy attitude about money, etc. And then there's what she calls the greatest secret to happiness: hope. "None of us lives with enough hope," she writes.
In some cases, like her suggestion to carve out time for peace and solitude, she gives moms permission to do things many of them would probably love to do anyway. Other ideas, like cutting back on expectations for children and loving them more as they are, might be harder.
In our tight economy, some moms might roll their eyes when Meeker suggests they might work a day or two less a week or hire an assistant if their jobs interfere with a good home life. Most moms can get along without the pool or the second home, Meeker says. No kidding, Doc.
Still, just about any mom, or dad, can find useful wisdom in this book. Meeker acknowledges that she isn't a perfect mom herself — she's a "slowly recovering obsessive worrier" — but she certainly points her readers in the right direction.
