Maggie MacDavid
The #1 Basic Truth About Motherhood
Why do we even TRY when we can’t seem to get anything right?
We don’t live in the same kind of world our own mothers lived in, girls. When they made mistakes, it was largely a private issue, and very few people had anything to say about it. In our modern, social-media-driven society, every single thing you do as a mom is open to EVERYONE for scrutiny, and people damn sure don’t hesitate to share their opinions.
As a new mom, I am more than aware of my shortcomings. I don’t need Lucinda the Facebook Lady showering me with her motherfucking high-and-mighty opinions and general commentary on my parenting. I’m totally aware
of the fact that I’m fucking everything up about 99% of the time, so I really don’t need Lucinda and her big, fat bitch mouth pointing it out.
It’s like my handy, dandy graphic up there points out, most parents today are subject to the following problem: "No matter what you’re trying to do, YOU’RE DOING EVERYTHING WRONG, and there’s very little likelihood of you getting anything right." I know that sounds like a mopey, nihilist kind of statement, but it’s true. On every single major parenting issue that exists, you’re going to have people coming at you from both sides with their convictions, and no matter what you do, you’re WRONG to roughly 50% of everyone who knows you at any given point in your life.
Additionally, there’s this little gem that haunts all mothers everywhere, 24/7: MOM SHAME. Mom shame is hellishly rampant in our modern society because social media makes it super easy for people to sit behind the safety of their computer screen and judge moms with little to no kind of consequence at all. Everyone from Fannie Formula to Betsy Breastfeeder to Nellie No-Kids has a fucking opinion on what you should be doing with your goddamn kids, even though they’re not involved in your life or even fully apprised of your situation at all.
It doesn’t matter that they don’t have all the facts, though. That’s the beauty of social media, guys. They don’t have to be in possession of a SINGLE fact about a situation to spew their fucking opinion about it all over your timeline, or feed, or whatever. So, just embrace the fact that no matter what you do, you’re wrong, and someone is going to publicly call you out about it at some point, whether you deserve it or not.
So, I’m going to share my smart-assed pearls of "wisdom" about parenting in the modern world of social media scrutiny within the framework of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Let’s dive in, shall we?