On the day I gave birth, I wandered around the supermarket, pushing my 19-month-old in the cart and grumbling about the paltry selection of diapers.
Slacker.
You think you know supermoms? You haven’t seen true supermoms until you’ve discovered Kara Coucher, Chaunté Lowe and Joanna Hayes, track stars who have decided to combine their running careers with motherhood. And frankly, I wish they’d keep it quiet.
These are moms who are competing in track just two months after giving birth, and storing up three months of breast milk so they can get back to training by running 100 miles a week. The rest of us, however, feel like champions when we’re able to make it to Mommy & Me without forgetting the diaper bag. Or the pacifier. Or our wallets. Or deodorant.
Personally, I don’t run unless there’s a ball involved and a chance to score. But that’s not the point. The point is that these moms deserving of capes and masks are ruining it for all new moms by raising the bar from “I showered today and left the house in under 30 minutes!” to “I qualified for the world track championships.”
Ladies, please. Stop. Or at least, do it more quietly and not, say, in the sports section of the New York Times where other new mothers might see it and think, I’d better change out of the clothes I’ve been wearing for a week and start running! Because once that bar is raised, it’ll ruin it for generations of new moms ahead.
Then we can go back to the true meaning of supermom:
The extreme examples of “super moms” really do not leave any room for a “shout out” to the every day mom who always goes the extra mile for her kids, family, community and STILL finds time to work out and take care of her personal health. Understandably these are track stars that may have a “time stamp” on their athletic prime and may have no choice but do it this way. …however to profile them as “super moms” takes on a whole new meaning when we look out to the everyday mom doing their very best. Super Mom…that title extends itself far beyond the scope of the article.
Temple University psychology professor Frank Farley did some studies in America and Europe in the 1980′s on heroism. He found that parents always come up at the top of the list.
Being a mother takes tremendous commitment and courage. I am inclined to vote for every responsible and conscientious mom as a “supermom.”
I have raised two kids who are now young adults. Particularly after our difficult launching experience, I am prepared to salute every mother, track stars or no stars. My passion now is to help the moms who struggle with launching and letting go.
Coach Theresa