Ooh. Just reading that title, “What kind of mother could give up her kids?” has an emotional sting, doesn’t it? It gets you right here — in the heart, in the gut. After all, whyever are we mothers, anyway?

There’s a provocative article in this month’s Marie-Claire that’s been making the internet rounds this past week. Yesterday it made the New York Times. I’m fascinated by the gamut of response to these pieces, often thoughtful, but just as often the response of what clearly hit a nerve. Motherhood is being threatened.

[insert bias here: a year and a month ago I moved 3000 miles away from my children. They now live full-time with their father after two years of joint custody and ten years of stay-at-home motherhood. You can read more about my journey over at Literary Mama.]
Read the rest of this entry

Abuse. It’s a dirty word, one most of us would prefer not to hear or think about. But the media spotlight is on abuse lately, with the Rihanna and Chris Brown situation. But he hit her — how could she go back to him?

What do you do? It’s your friend, or a neighbor, or a coworker, or maybe just one of the moms at school. But you notice something … different. You think something is going on that shouldn’t be. You see her with her spouse in public together, and it doesn’t feel quite right. Something’s off. There’s a strange sort of tension there. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but something’s wrong. You think there might be abuse.

What do you do?
Read the rest of this entry