As Mother’s Day approaches, I find myself thinking how extremely hard Motherhood and family life can be. It’s definitely more difficult than I thought it would be… and I don’t like difficult, but I always find a way to deal. When I first signed up for motherhood, I thought I signed up for infancy, cuteness, cuddles and monopoly and hot cocoa in front of a glowing fire. What I got was an 11-year-old who is trying to take over the world, starting with our home and its inhabitants.
So, I retreat to what has always seen me through – humor. Laughing at motherhood and family life feels good, plain and simple. Like many other writers and mothers, my favorite reads help me keep life in perspective and with Mother’s Day approaching I thought they would be the perfect books to share.
I’ll probably date myself with my first pick, but one of the earliest humor writers I loved when I was younger happens to write about family life: Erma Bombeck. So my first pick has to be The Erma Bombeck Collection: If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits?, Motherhood, and The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank. Somehow, hearing another mother struggle and laugh helps me laugh through my struggle and Erma Bombeck’s work is not short of laughs.
Second, I love to eat. And my family needs to eat. I’m trying my darndest to not eat a lot these days, but the fact remains: I love, and my kids need, to eat. So combine my affection for laughing and my love of eating and you get my second pick, No Cooking at All. Almost. Hardly. by Tukey Koffend. It’s a funny book of unfussy recipes for those of us who love to eat, and who sort-of like to cook. Sometimes. When the mood hits. Or my kids get that hungry look – about 3 times a day, roughly.
My third pick is also not strictly about motherhood or family but hiking and adventure. Here’s the connection, the book is about a woman who loses herself and then finds herself. Motherhood and family life is like that too. We lose ourselves in our new roles in this new family we create. But in losing ourselves we ultimately find a better version of ourselves, down the road. So my final family pick is Cheryl Strayed’s Wild.
So there you have it – laughter, food and adventure. Everything a mother needs to keep her life sane, whether it be through her own adventures or someone else’s.
Pamela Peery is the author of POP: 50 Amazing Secrets to a Successful Labor & Delivery or C-Section, the first handbook on the market that combines savvy advice and surprising tips & tricks from new mothers reaching across time and space to hold every expectant mother’s hand. POP is a compelling portrait of the intimate and natural connection between a woman’s body, mind and soul, and her child. Peery started her career in writing as an editor of the Los Angeles Daily Journal for 6 years.
She also worked at Chapman University as a legal writing professor. Today she lives in San Clemente, CA, with her daughter and son. For more information on Pamela Peery and the fascinating story of how POP came to be, visit: www.babyalmosthome.com.