PYHO... Mommy Wars

*Please remember, for some of us, this is the only place to be able to vent in a safe way, as to avoid the unneeded negativity that may already be occurring in our lives. In other words, if you have nothing constructive, and uninsulting to say, please refrain or move on. Or else, I let Angel come at you with one of her flaming vlogs.*

Yesterday morning, over on my FaceBook profile, I put a little lighthearted post up about this being the last two weeks of school. My exact words were...

"All the kids are off to school and here I sit, sipping my second cup of coffee. Best enjoy it while I can. In two weeks, the peace will NOT be with me. For 2 months."

In a nutshell, I meant no malice. I was not whining (as a friend had stated on behalf of her sister) and yes, indeed KNOW that I am VERY fortunate to be home with my kids.

But it wasn't always this way. I have also been a working mother as well in my time. And I missed some important areas of growth in two of my children because of it. When my third (and last) came along, I quit my job because honestly, there was no way, even with BOTH of our incomes, could afford full and part time child care for THREE kids. So I left and never went back in to the workforce.

ALL of us mothers (and fathers) work hard. Both inside and outside of the home. Only real difference is that some mothers get to earn monetary income, as well as have the house duties (and parental duties). And some of us don't earn more than kisses or hugs, which in my mind trumps all the monetary pay in the world.

"I would say you are pretty lucky!"...Yes, I am. But also, I didn't post what I did as to gain sympathy or bragging rights.

Is this what posting anything in the way of parenting has come to? Picking a war over a joke? Hell, I even made it in to a "Yoda-ism" near the end.

I'm NO better in the parenting department, being a mother who stays home, than the working girl next door with a kid or two. We both have the same job description where being a parent is concerned. Love, nurture and support our kids.

But believe me when I say, staying home 24/7 is no real picnic either. I would LOVE to be able to once again earn money from a day's work. I would love to have ADULT interactions outside of my home and the school setting (where I volunteer).

Then again, my line of work to go back to would NOT allow me the schedule I would need. Not in the retail life. It's not a "9 to 5" environment with every weekend off. And you can never really plan anything around your schedule, because that ALWAYS is changing.

Basically, there are pros and cons in BOTH areas of being a parent who works and who stays home. I may JOKE about the fact that Summertime will bring me little to no peace (which is VERY true), I will STILL enjoy the time I will have with my kids being home.

Like another mommy-friend said to me last night, "If your children don't annoy you at least once a week, you aren't around them enough". So true there! And believe me, I'm around mine enough, that the gray hairs just keep piling on my head. But I don't love, nor do I not want to be with them any less.

That FB post meant that I am being HUMAN, as well as realistic of what's to come with Summer break looming.

Just because I am a mother, it does NOT mean I have to "enjoy" having NO peacefulness or "me time" to take time for ME, and instead place myself last.

Which I do anyways.

GLBT and Kroger...BOYCOTT? (getting on my soapbox!)

Over at Facebook, I belong to the "Fan Page" for the retail grocery chain, Kroger(KROGER FACEBOOK FAN PAGE). You can ask questions, find out what weekly deals and sales that they are having (or will be having the following week) and converse with fellow customers of the establishment.

The store has re-done their FB page and so I had to search a bit for the DISCUSSIONS tab (which happened to be under BOXES). I like to "talk" with others on the boards in that manner.

Yesterday, I came across one titled "I will not shop at Kroger because you denied sponsorship to the LGBT community.". Of course, it did pique my interest. So, I opened it up and read the initial post that opened the proverbial can of worms. It went like this..

"Removing your use of your logo for the Cincinnati LGBT pride festival is a poor decision.

I live in Columbus, have a Kroger across the street from my house, but your regressive ways have made me rethink going to any Kroger location. I will spend my families money where I am appreciated.

I have already switched to Giant Eagle and will actively spread the word for others to do the same. "

Now, if you know me, I am ALL for the rights and equality for the GLBT Community. Yes, even marriage. But I am also not one to go off on a tangent such as this over the fact that CORPORATE OFFICE made the decision to remove their logo from the Pride Festival.

Was it wrong for Kroger to do such a thing? YES! In *my* mind it was. Kroger spreads talk of community and unity, and wanting to help others. But talk is cheap these days. But to pull out of the Pride Festival, in fear of what their customers *might* think (and HELLO!! Kroger, you DO have customers that are gay, you idiot Heads!) of them.

But to punish a LOCAL store in your area over what the Corporate Office (in Cincinnati, Ohio, mind you!) did (I feel) makes YOU just as bad as the Head Office. When you refuse to shop there (or at any retailer) and take a bunch of friends with you, then yes, you ARE denying a basic, everyday, hard-working employee a paycheck.

Same with gas stations. I do NOT buy the BP gas (for obvious reasons!), but I will not *refuse* to shop inside the convenience store. That store has nothing to gain from BP, except a small percentage of earnings from BP for "featuring" their BP product. Most of their income is through the selling of IN-STORE products, being that the store it's self is of it's own entity. A franchise.

My husband, for the last ten years of his life, has worked at Kroger Food & Drug. And for eight of those ten years (started as, then promoted, then had to go back to it due to certain circumstances and is presently there) Scott has been Head Frozen Food Clerk. Do you HONESTLY think he ENJOYS freezing his ass off daily to provide YOU, the consumer with "quick and easy" meals? I can tell you a resounding NO! At least not ALL of the time.

He gets crap for pay, as he (sometimes) works up to a ten-hour shift, busting his ass to place products on his shelves, make sure orders that come in are stocked with what he needs to supply YOU with to grab off of those shelves and has to hear customers bitch and yell at him for what the WAREHOUSE scratched (did not send) on the order (which is NOT up to him).

When you refuse to shop, you are taking away pay from him, and his fellow employees. And in turn, you are taking it from my kids, and their (fellow employees) families. We rely on those paychecks (just like anyone else in any other employment position) to clothe, feed and house our children. And when you "boycott" a store for what is OUT OF THE *LOCAL STORE'S* control, you not only hurt that store and their employees, you hurt US, THE FAMILIES of those employees.

Everyone wants equal rights. Is it really and honestly fair to "boycott" a single store for what their Corporate Office did? What (Corporate Office) did was INDEED blatantly WRONG. Call THEM. Write to THEM. Email THEM. Don't make the "little guy" suffer. They get the shitty end of the stick. It's Corporate that needs to have a hole burned in their pockets. Not my husband (or my children).

This is one of the reasons I hate Retail Life!

As a former Retail Sales Clerk myself, I understand. Businesses are set to making money. And grocery stores will never become a "thing of the past", being that we as humans, must eat. But to eat, we must spend our hard earned money to buy the food.

There is currently a massive snowstorm hitting us, the Carolinas and most of the Mid-Atlantic. So far, there is a minimum of about fourteen inches on the ground, that started to fall last night. It won't end until sometime this afternoon.

What is just deplorable and shocking to me, is that ANY AND ALL grocery stores in my area are still opening, forcing their employees, such as my husband to drive in this stuff. Yes, the shelves need restocking. But can the managers not close the doors for one freaking damn day so that their employees don't have to risk life and limb to get to their job, where most likely, business will be at a stand still?

Nope, they certainly cannot! How dare the store managers actually think about their employees instead of lining their pockets with salary wages!! After all, the making of a potentially fast buck is always better than making sure that your employees are safe and sound.

This is one of the reasons I decided to be a Homemaker. I knew that they would want to jeopardize my safety, and the safety of my children to have me come to work in these kinds of weather conditions.