Oprah makes me angry

For lots of reasons. Not the least of which is her glossy monthly narcissistic ode to self-aggrandisement that assaults my senses at the supermarket checkout (I mean, really, there's *nothing* else you could put on the front cover? You don't see Terry Smith on the cover of every Messenger).

But what really gets my proverbial goat is her frequent assurance that being a mother is the hardest job in the world, pronounced with all possible smugness from whichever leather chair is the height of style for this television season. And that she knows she could never do it, so she chooses not to be one.

Now there are lots of jobs that I know I could never do, or at least, could not likely ever do well. Warehouse forklift operator, for one. Slaughterhouse inspector, for another. But I do hope that I would say so without that same sense of "there but for the grace of God go I" that seems to accompany Ms. Winfrey's condescending platitudes.

Why the rant, you ask? (As if one needs a reason to protest the juggernaut that is O.) Because today I once again joined the ranks of those exclusively occupied - for no pay, mind you - with the "hardest job in the world." And it is precisely because of this singling out of motherhood as some sort of saintly vocation (as opposed to occupation) that has suddenly made my life very different. Now I again get to struggle with feeling like "just a mom." And then feel guilty for insisting that I am only "between jobs" as though staying at home with my kids is like some prison spell one tries to bury in one's resume.

Perhaps my ire is simply the result of being very sad today. I loved my job and I loved my coworkers even more. I revelled in the anal retentiveness of it all, the petty political games, the agonizing over comma placement or to bold or not to bold.

But I know that there are equally meticulous people in offices in Minneapolis, and that I will find myself there eventually. I also know that even though mothering *is* one of the harder jobs around, this interim will be a good time for me to shore up my foundational relationships with my kids and that I'll one day look back fondly at my child-centred "holiday."

Moving update: tomorrow we head down to look for houses - if you're praying, pray for a nice one (and a fireplace wouldn't hurt). We return Friday, and I'll post details as soon as I can!