May 11th, 2009

Little side notes…

by Terri Libenson

Instead of focusing on a single strip in this blog entry, I thought it’d be fun to share brief commentary on an entire bunch.

This one is close to my heart. I’ve come to realize that – despite its obvious advantages — working from home is extremely isolating. Before kids, I never thought I could do it. Thankfully, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. But I do remember the first year of not having coworkers to share banter with…very hard to get used to. The service people that rang my doorbell knew to stay clear.

 

I threw this one in here because I was surprised by the enormous reaction to it. I love this strip…it’s one of those that hit home with so many women. I guess we all need to know that we’re not the only ones who lose it sometimes…or even more than sometimes.

 

Okay, this one I’m just plain embarrassed about. Turns out I made a huge grammatical error – and it took a couple of retired English teachers to point it out via email (separately, mind you). So…can you non-English/journalism majors spot the mistake?

The error is the word “amount.” Amount pertains to measurement. “Number” would’ve been the correct word since it pertains to numerical value. Did anyone else know this?? I claim pure ignorance and stupidity.

I’m always fascinated by the so-called mommy wars. I know there are judgmental types who stigmatize working moms or stay-at-home moms. But I wonder if this sort of battle is as prevalent as it may have once been.

My question is: is there anyone out there who regularly experiences this type of “discrimination”? I did (but not overtly) when my kids were much younger. Nowadays, I’m in my little cartoonist shell and don’t get out much, so I’m not really subjected to it anymore. Also, I think as women mature as mothers, we become a little more relaxed and open to different styles of parenting. We also become members of the “been there, done that” club, which mellows our outlook.  At least, that’s what I’ve observed with myself and friends. So…what do you think?

*Update: I have a fun (well, for me, anyway) story line coming out in July. Make sure your local paper doesn’t shut down before then!