A Secret to Success as a Working Mom: Turn Burn Out Into Bliss and Embrace Joy

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Last weekend my youngest was committed to going to the "Water Steps" a man-made water fall in Pittsburgh by the rivers. (Fun Fact: Three rivers converge in Pittsburgh--The Ohio River, The Monongahela River, and the Allegheny River.)  He kept asking. I knew he was serious when he said, "If you won't take me, I'll ask  daddy!" Given that it was highly unlikely that would happen on an unscheduled day, I relented. So, we went. It wasn’t planned in the way most things in my life are. No calendar block. No checklist. No “productive” purpose attached. And, so in some respects it was uncomfortable. And yet, it seemed necessary. It was the idea of my 8-year-old—offered with the kind of urgency only children possess when something is profoundly important to them.
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Jon and Kate, the tragedy of divorce...

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I watched “Jon and Kate Plus Eight” for the first time tonight and I realize why the ratings have plummeted since they announced the divorce. The show was popular because the audience believed that they were in on the joke.

Kate was so hard on Jon. She rode him all day long about the tasks he had failed to complete or did wrong. She complained about his failure to use coupons and to dress the children alike. She made the viewers believe that Jon seem was completely incompetent at all tasks. The show only worked when the audience believed that the family was united by love.

I totally get why a lot of people don't want to watch the show anymore. If you think that Kate believes the statements she seems cruel. Jon seems abused. The family seems on the brink of destruction. And there is no humor in that.

I imagine that the viewers previously felt privileged to have a private view into the intimate aspects of another family. When I watched the show tonight I felt dirty. Jon and Kate are just one more couple who couldn’t make it work. And I got to watch their family unravel. There was nothing funny about that. It’s just tragic…
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