Dear Gwyneth,
I really enjoyed your recent comments to E! about how easy an office job is for parents, compared to the grueling circumstances of being on a movie set. I think its different when you have an office job, because its routine and, you know, you can do all the stuff in the morning and then you come home in the evening, you said. When youre shooting a movie, theyre like, We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks, and then you work 14 hours a day, and that part of it is very difficult. I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but its not like being on set.
As a mother of a toddler, I couldnt agree more!
Thank God I dont make millions filming one movie per year is what I say to myself pretty much every morning as I wait on a windy Metro-North platform, about to begin my 45-minute commute into the city. Whenever things get rough, all I have to do is keep reminding myself of that fact. It is my mantra.
And I know all my fellow working-mom friends feel the same. Am I right, ladies?
Were always gabbing about how easy it is to balance work and home life. Whenever I meet with them at one of our weekly get-togethers a breeze to schedule, because reliable baby sitters often roam my neighborhood in packs, holding up signs peddling their services we have a competition to see who has it easier. Is it the female breadwinners who work around the clock to make sure their mortgages get paid, lying awake at night, wracked with anxiety over the idea of losing their jobs? Or is it the mothers who get mommy-tracked and denied promotions? What about the moms with regular 9-to-5 jobs, who are penalized when their kids are sick and they dont have backup child care?
Those women are living the dream, I tell you!
Which reminds me, child care. As you know, Gwynnie, having a staff can be a real drag. Its so hard to find good help these days! Thats why its a good thing theres all this nationally subsidized, high-quality day care lying around for the taking. It just makes things easier knowing you have such a strong support network and dont have to pay someone anywhere from $30K to $65K annually to take care of your child full-time.
Were always gabbing about how easy it is to balance work and home life. Whenever I meet with them at one of our weekly get-togethers a breeze to schedule, because reliable baby sitters often roam my neighborhood in packs, holding up signs peddling their services we have a competition to see who has it easier. Is it the female breadwinners who work around the clock to make sure their mortgages get paid, lying awake at night, wracked with anxiety over the idea of losing their jobs? Or is it the mothers who get mommy-tracked and denied promotions? What about the moms with regular 9-to-5 jobs, who are penalized when their kids are sick and they dont have backup child care?
Those women are living the dream, I tell you!
Which reminds me, child care. As you know, Gwynnie, having a staff can be a real drag. Its so hard to find good help these days! Thats why its a good thing theres all this nationally subsidized, high-quality day care lying around for the taking. It just makes things easier knowing you have such a strong support network and dont have to pay someone anywhere from $30K to $65K annually to take care of your child full-time.
So, Gwyneth, youve figured out the secret of working parents everywhere: Livin la vida desk job is a breeze compared to the 14-hour days of a film set. Fourteen hours? Who in New York especially those in the finance, law and tech professions could possibly work 14 whole hours?
Luckily, those 9-to-5 ordinary job hours grow on trees here.
And if you lose one, all you have to do is find another.
Yours,
Mackenzie
Robert,
An excellent observation.
I would argue that they are entitled to their opinion.... it just doesn't matter any more than anyone else.
I would have to agree with that John. This often the case with children of privilege. I have seen it here where I live.
Same as deplaning, right?
I've always thought that Gwyneth was an air head-- pretty, nice enough, but not of my world. She has never faced the reality of buying groceries with your credit card, because she is out of cash for the week, thanks to an unexpected visit to the dentist for her child. etc.
All mothers work hard. Her work is hard, too, I'm sure. But, to denigrate the efforts of so many working mothers because they work 9 to 5, is beyond the pale. They work 9 to 5, come home, do laundry, fix dinner, help with homework, get the kids bathed, fed, ready for bed, and then, try to have some time with their husbands, if they have one.
Gwyneth works 14 hour days, but when she comes home, her kids are fed, bathed, homeworked, and may already be in bed. Just because she is fortunate, doesn't give her to right to look down her nose at anyone.
Piffle.
Dear Friend Dowser: Piffle indeed.
These kind of unilateral comparisons never stand up tot he light of day when analyzed.
It is best for all of us to do the best we can in life, and cut others slack. Devolving into self -pity, particularly when one's circumstances are so much more advantaged than average do no come off looking very well at all.
Peace, Blessings and Comfort to You and Yours.
I was saddened to hear of the untimely loss in your family. You have my private email. I encourage you to use it now and in future, for any support that can be provided.
E.
In spite of this comment she's still my fav MILF ...
No. But you should be giving your children household tasks and do charity work. I did that with mine and by the time they were 16 they had summer jobs with camps.
LMAO!
I would have to agree with your assessment, Dowser.