mothers on the verge

As every mama knows, it's tough out there right now. It takes no work to fold open the newspaper, turn on the TV news, or even surf to a site to see the deluge of trouble — and be fed more stories that frankly have turned my coffee cold day after day. As a journalist, I would never suggest burying your head in the sand. Understanding the reality of what's going on around us, with the economy, and world strife, is imperative so that we can honestly affect change to make things better. But just as important? Remembering why things can be good. And what brings a smile to our faces. As mamas, we all have miniature packages of joy right in front of us each day. (Yes, even when they're screaming at you for pulling their hair JUST so you can tie it up and keep it lice free -- but, uh, I'm meandering here...) So this week I invited a number of mamas to a movie night. And I'm going to invite another mama who told me how things are getting a little tough right now. I understa...

So I finally broke down and threw myself on to Facebook. With my usual follow-through this means I have a smattering of friends. I mean really, it's almost impossible to keep up with every digital demand in the world - right? How do we write a blog, do work that pays the bills, be a semi-fluent mama and then twitter around as well? We don't. But more to the point, I do not understand how you manage your online life, especially for the people who seem to have 359 Facebook friends. Do they invite them all to their house for the annual holiday party? What about some who are work friends and some who are friends through the mama-world? Does your editor want to know that your Rabbit has 104 degree fever? Does your friend want to know about the latest tech gizmo you may be writing about? Guessing transparency means no more privacy, no more mystery, no more solitude. I'm wondering when the backlash will begin.

A recent row with, who I thought was, a friend has made me think over the last few days about how much I appreciate the friends I do have in my life. Truthfully, most of my closest friends do not even live near me -- not even in the same city. But somehow there's that feeling that I can pick up the phone and just call at any time -- and we're still connecting the same way, even if we can just grab 6 minutes on a ride home from work, or on the way to pick up our rabbits, or late at night, in different time zones, whispering so that babies do not wake. Yes, I miss having a girlfriend near by who I can just grab coffee with, or go shopping -- but let's get real: Like I even have that kind of time any more. I also appreciate those friends who didn't feel I had personally abandoned them when the Rabbit appeared. One of my best friends, who has no children of her own, would never dream of not including my daughter in our plans when I make it into DC to see her on my few, and ...