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Quote by Mary Blakely

“In motherhood, where seemingly opposite realities can be simultaneously true, the role of nurturer invariably conflicts with the role of socializer. When trouble came as it surely must, was I the good cop who understood, the bad cop who terrorized, or both?”

Quote by Mary Blakely

Author

Mary Blakely, born in 1948, is an accomplished author whose works span a variety of genres. Known for her profound insights and unique narrative style, her writing has gained her recognition and awards, including a Nobel Prize nomination. more

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“With two sons born eighteen months apart, I operated mainly on automatic pilot through the ceaseless activity of their early childhood. I remember opening the refrigerator late one night and finding a roll of aluminum foil next to a pair of small red tennies. Certain that I was responsible for the refrigerated shoes, I quickly closed the door and ran upstairs to make sure I had put the babies in their cribs instead of the linen closet.”

Source: American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie

“Spooky things happen in houses densely occupied by adolescent boys. When I checked out a four-inch dent in the living room ceilingone afternoon, even the kid still holding the baseball bat looked genuinely baffled about how he possibly could have done it.”

Stills Done Happens Kids House Rooms Boys Four Baseball Things Happen Afternoon Inches Adolescence Bats Living Room Spooky Baffled

Author:Mary Blakely

“If my sons are to become the kind of men our daughters would be pleased to live among, attention to domestic details is critical.The hostilities that arise over housework...are crushing the daughters of my generation....Change takes time, but men's continued obliviousness to home responsibilities is causing women everywhere to expire of trivialities.”

Ifs Men Kind Home Would Be Attention Responsibility Generations Son Daughter Details Critical Arise Crush My Son Take Time Hostility My Generation Housework Our Daughter Triviality

Author:Mary Blakely

“Mothers are likely to have more bad days on the job than most other professionals, considering the hours: round-the-clock, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. . . . You go to work when you're sick, maybe even clinically depressed, because motherhood is perhaps the only unpaid position where failure to show up can result in arrest.”

Years Two Shows Jobs Mother Hours Results Week Position Sick Seven Rounds Motherhood Clock Fifty Considering Bad Day Two Weeks Seven Days

Book:American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie

Source: American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie

“When trouble comes no mother should have to plead guilty alone. The pediatricians, psychologists, therapists, goat herders, fathers, and peer groups should all be called to the bench as well. . . .”

Should Wells Mother Father Trouble Groups Should Have Guilty Peers Psychologist Benches Therapists Goats Peer Group Pediatrician

Book:American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie

Source: American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie

“By now, legions of tireless essayists and op-ed columnists have dressed feminists down for making such a fuss about entering the professions and earning equal pay that everyone's attention has been distracted from the important contributions of mothers working at home. This judgment presumes, of course, that prior to the resurgence of feminism in the '70s, housewives and mothers enjoyed wide recognition and honor. This was not exactly the case.”

Source: American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie

“A "snapshot" feature in USA Today listed the five greatest concerns parents and teachers had about children in the '50s: talking out of turn, chewing gum in class, doing homework, stepping out of line, cleaning their rooms. Then it listed the five top concerns of parents today: drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, suicide and homicide, gang violence, anorexia and bulimia. We can also add AIDS, poverty, and homelessness. . . . Between my own childhood and the advent of my motherhood--one short generation--the culture had gone completely mad.”

“After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I'd read, I started relying on the expert advice of other mothers--especially those with sons a few years older than mine. This great body of knowledge is essentially an oral history, because anyone engaged in motherhood on a daily basis has no time to write an advice book about it.”

Writing Years Littles Book Real Body Mother Advice Mines Son Bases Motherhood Real Life Experts Engaged Plot Articles Bores Resemblance Oral History

Author:Mary Blakely

“It takes twenty or so years before a mother can know with any certainty how effective her theories have been--and even then thereare surprises. The daily newspapers raise the most frightening questions of all for a mother of sons: Could my once sweet babes ever become violent men? Are my sons really who I think they are?”

Thinking Knows Men Years Has Beens Mother Son Sweet Theory Twenties Raises Surprise Newspapers Violent Certainty My Son Frightening Babe Violent Man

Book:American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie

Source: American Mom: Motherhood, Politics, and Humble Pie

“One year, I'd completely lost my bearings trying to follow potty training instruction from a psychiatric expert. I was stuck on step on, which stated without an atom of irony: "Before you begin, remove all stubbornness from the child." . . . I knew it only could have been written by someone whose suit coat was still spotless at the end of the day, not someone who had any hands-on experience with an actual two-year-old.”