I read the book "The Ten Year Nap" by Meg Wollitzer. I picked it up for $4 at Borders in the remainder bin, even though it's a fairly new, bestselling book. I gobbled it up. It was the first time I had identified so closely with a book in a long while- it being about 40-something stay at home moms. It was nearly perfect in it's portrayal of the conflict we feel as mothers. (Okay, maybe it was just perfect.) The daily pull of self interest against family interest. As one review put it- who do women owe their allegiance to, themselves? their children? their husbands? their mothers? their friends? The worries of our lives, our children's well-being, our husbands interests, our aging selves- the cutting off from our old selves- before children. What if? You can read the first chapter here.
I have read several articles in The New Yorker which I have already forgotten. But which will return to me in some weird fashion in the middle of a conversation one day. One morning, I absent-mindedly started reading the middle of a short story. I rarely read them- I don't know why- there is no good explanation. I guess when I'm reading the magazine I'm not in a fiction mood. Anyhow- it caught my interest so I turned to the beginning. To my delight it was written by Lorrie Moore. I was introduced to her in college and read a few of her novels. At the time, me being young and starry eyed- they struck me as mean and dark. Now, as my older self, I appreciate her style. Funny- "Childcare" is about a young college girl interviewing for a job as a nanny to a 40-something woman. Coincidence? I think not. The gods are speaking to me. You can read the short story here.
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