Mother Shock: Loving Every (Other) Minute of It is a collection of essays about the first year of mothering, comparing the experience to the culture shock one experiences when travelling to a foreign country. I like the analogy a lot and I think Heather will like it even more since she and Alec were on a very long around-the-world trip when they launched their career in parenthood.
The essay I liked the most in the book is the piece from where the author drew the subtitle “Loving Every (Other) Minute of It”. She explains that when people ask new mothers how they like motherhood, we feel obligated to say “Oh, I love every minute of it.” She provides examples of minutes you might not love and encourages you to make your own list. Mine might include
- Realizing there is poop on a book we like
- Calling a friend to cancel plans because someone is napping
- Hearing a cough over the baby monitor and feeling helpless to do anything to fix it
- Waking up early every single day, holidays and weekends included
- Plugged ducts
You get the picture. The point is that it doesn’t mean you don’t love your baby if you don’t love some things that come along with the package. This is a very big job you’ve taken on and it’s all consuming. The author reminds us that when we are asked how we like work or our new hometown, we are not expected to love every single thing about it. It might be more accurate to say you love much of it, most of it, some of it, or every other minute. If you relate to this, check out the book.
