Sunday, October 15, 2006

WORKING MOTHERS

There are all kinds:

A. Women who work because they have to help their spouse put food on the table.

B. Women who are single and don't have a choice but to work.

C. Women who don't want to be away from their children and balance and struggle and work when their kids are sleeping or at school.

D. Women who enjoy their career and need a little time away from their family to gain independence, self-worth and fulfillment to their lives.

E. Women like the woman below..........

Her name is Jan Tuckwood. She has four girls (aging from I think around 6 years to adult). Jan also has a husband who works in the news field. She won "Editor of the Year" in Florida. She works in Miami for Cox News. She writes articles and edits magazines and has what some would call a rewarding life. I stumbled upon this article in my local newspaper, and quite frankly, was shocked and speechless. Let me share:

KIDS JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH MOM WHO PUTS CAREER FIRST

"Nancy Dickerson had a big TV job, high cheekbones and fancy friends. She dated JFK before he married Jackie. And she was the first woman to anchor an NBC newscast - way back in the 1960's.
But did she have it all? Oh, no. Turns out, Nancy was a rotten mom.
Her youngest son, John, author of the new book "On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star," writes that he resented Mommy for years because she put image and career first.
Here's a mom I could feel smug about: Nancy was rich, powerful - and a worse mother than me.
You see, I put my career first.
I work 60-plus hours a week, and I do it because I want to.
Lucky for Kate, 19, and Tess 16, their daily care has been handled by my mother, Helen, and our friend, Margaret Doyle. I pay them, but it's impossible to put a price on what they give me -- the freedom to put my work first.
My mother calls me "a Disney World mom," and she's right. When I'm home, I'm fun, but please don't expect me to spend hours kissing a boo-boo.
Once, for Kate's 10th birthday, I took her and two friends to Disney's Vero Beach Resort for the weekend. We had a great time--until we had to leave abruptly in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Princess Diana had died, and I had to rush to work.
"This is the mother you have , kids," I tell them. "News comes first."
Last weekend, Kate came home from college because she missed me.
At least that's what she said.
Maybe she's taking notes for a future book."

Any thoughts?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why do people like that have kids in the first place?

Jennboree said...

Proof that not everyone should be allowed to have kids.

Anonymous said...

That makes me sad.

Unknown said...

They should never have kids.

Girlie said...

I feel sorry for her.

What's all that riches if your kids detest you when they're grown up?

And aren't kids the most important job and accomplishment a mother and father can have in this life?

Jennboree said...

Proof once again that not everyone should be allowed to have children.

Lynn said...

Well,at least she is honest. Being a smother mother myself I have trouble relating, but maybe she would be a worse mother if she spent more time around here kids. On the other hand she could have just got a kitten.

Mayberry said...

Wow. That's pretty hard to read. I am a working mom of the "D" variety in your post and I was raised by one too. So I definitely can understand the need for a life separate from your kids. But actually, I mean "PART OF" your life separate from your kids. Not all of it!!

Jen said...

I'm searching for the part that made you speechless. scratching head

Unknown said...

Well, we've all had moments when we need to get away from our kids for just a few hours - to feel like an woman, an adult, a person who is about more than cleaning up poopy diapers.

But this woman takes it too far.

Girlie said...

I post a reply to this one before, it was long, and just when I was about to hit reply...one of my boys hit delete, and I cannot find it. :)

I think that mothering and motherhood is a choice...and it's a tough choise most of the time.

We should always choose our children if it's at all possible.

Anonymous said...

Elsa Walsh goes into this some more in her review of Dickerson's book:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/17/AR2006101701393.html