Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on | 0 Comments
So I've been reading a bunch of hand-me-down books to my children, and while hand-me-downs are great, lately have made it a point to A. go out and seek more books that are my style and message to build a library, and B. read more Berenstain Bears books.
One of the hand me down books from my sister-in-law was The Berenstain Bears and Mama's New Job (it's actually from the teaching days of my mother-in-law). It's been kicking around my daughter's room for about a year now, and we haven't read it. Until last night.
Recently, I'd had the epiphany that I was hiding my work from my daughter. Some silly notion in my head didn't want her to think I was choosing work over her. But then I was in one of my favorite stores, echo boutique here in Beacon, NY, and realized that I'd always admired how the shop owner's daughter was frequently in the store, and liked learning how to run the credit card, or holding the door for people (or creating mayhem with my daughter as I shopped). So why was I not embracing my work as a teachable moment!?
And then we finally read The Berenstain Bears and Mama's New Job last night, and holy smokes, it was spot on about mothers who work, and how their family might react, and how they themselves think in their heads. Mama Bear most always makes dinner for her family, but as she walked out the door on her first day, she turned to her family and said "Oh, and supper may be a little late tonight" (it was a lot late that night). Woa, what a sigh of relief I felt because my dinners are sometimes hurried, late, or we just order burgers from Poppy's or chicken and mac and cheese from BJs!
After a while of her working the shop, the Berenstain Bear family went out for burgers! And Mama treated! After reading The Berenstain Bears as a mother, vs enjoying them as a little person, I had no idea that they speak the language of "adult", and especially of "parent who lives through the crazy of raising kids". Honestly, those Berenstain's (and this time I mean Stan and Jan Berenstain, the writers and illustrators) really knew what was up when it came to parenting, and weren't afraid to address it gently but spot on in their books.
So if you haven't read Mama's New Job yet, and you have kids, check it out as a reassuring source of inspiration that yes, parents can do everything, even work and raise a family.
