 The portable pooch is so last season, regardless how cute that teacup Chihuahua is. The glossies are declaring the baby bump as this season’s hottest accessory. Glad to know I’ll be on the cutting edge of style should my world change tonight—even Chatelaine ran a feature recently on the “yummy mummy.”
A rescue from superficial heroines
As much as I loved reading about Becky Brandon’s airy, hilarious adventures in conspicuous consumption, Sophie Kinsella’s latest, Shopaholic and Baby fell flat for me. Perhaps it is my distaste at Becky’s superficial outlook that she’ll bring to her fictional bundle of joy…or perhaps I’m just distressed that I wouldn’t be able to afford the hottest new pram. Or maybe I’m just wondering what in the world the zillions are going to do—the women who already have the baby bump, albeit left over from twelve years ago, and a household of needy, clamouring kids.
This is where Kathy Buckworth comes to the rescue.
In Journey to the Darkside: SuperMom Goes Home, Buckworth outlines dozens of strategies for keeping your cool when your coolness has long since eroded. This outrageously hysterical instruction manual for abandoning the office in lieu of full-time parenting follows up the popular Secret Life of SuperMom and SuperMom: a Celebration of All You Do.
Finding meaning in mayhem
Buckworth knows from experience that there is nothing more meaningful than raising (to quote Scarlett O’Hara) a passel of brats. Here she gives detailed instructions on finding that meaning under piles of holey socks and empty pizza-pocket boxes.
Now when the telephone jingles, it won’t be for you. No more frantic fumblings lurching into pantyhose while hopping onto the bus. Oh, and no more lunch breaks. With the same comic easy manner that Buckworth explained the juggling act of Firm and Family, she helps you transition out of minute-meetings and dry-cleaner stops and into your kitchen and living room with no way out except to ferry the kids to endless orthodontics appointments.
SuperMom by any other name
“Domestic Diva” is a catchy sounding title, but Buckworth warns that job descriptions like this one “don’t even begin to describe both the responsibility and the tedium of the job mandate.” She suggests a bevy of more precise titles, from “Bodily Waste Control and Clean-Up Manager” to “Vice President of Budgeting, Splurging, and Justification.”
Chock full of helpful, cheery how-tos like the “To Do List from Hell” and “Interesting Conversation–an Autopsy (of sorts),” Buckworth reveals the lighter side of heavy duties.
There’s plenty of moral support: “For the most part, your days will be totally bereft of anything interesting.” You won’t be alarmed when the hot topic of your workday is endless gossip “about the personal lives of the children’s swimming instructors.” You’ll effortlessly avoid oxymorons like “family vacations” and skip the “Gap mom” or “aging hippie” wardrobe in favour of clean tracksuits. And with no commuting to the job, there will be plenty of time after dirty diapers and body piercing arguments to feel like sex.
This rollicking adventure through laundry piles, geometry sets, hockey practice and spilled chocolate milk is something that every SuperMom-come-home should keep handy. Your copy should be accessible for every emergency and the stylish pink and yellow cover will look resplendent next to the fruit bowl containing the browning bananas—on hand for those 24 hours of the day that you’ll feel you’re going bananas.
About the Author
Kathy Buckworth is the author of The Secret Life of SuperMom and SuperMom: A Celebration of All You Do. Her writing has appeared in many publications, including Today’s Parent, City Parent and Canadian Living. She is a frequent radio and television talk show quest (appearing on Breakfast Television, Yummy Mummy, The Mom Show and as a featured expert on Life Network’s Birth Days). She lives in Mississauga, Ontario, with her husband and four children. Visit her website at www.kathybuckworth.com
Author: Kathy Buckworth
Number of pages: 200
Publisher: Key Porter Books
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