.....I absolutely despise most magazines aimed at Christian Women. Especially the couple that I have seen aimed at Catholic Women.
While I am not a particular fan of the "woman's magazine" in general (I'm dying to read Spin Sisters by Myrna Bluth, but no one will ever bring it BACK to the library!) I do enjoy Woman's Day and Family Circle. While they still have way too many "Your Child Could Be In Danger From ________ (fill in with danger du jour), at least they have some decent recipes and a minimum of sex articles.
So you'd think I'd like a Catholic women's magazine--one that focused on issues of family, faith, etc. Nope. Can't abide them. Every single woman writing in those magazines apparently has perfect children who say their prayers on cue. They live in immaculate houses. They spend time with their husbands praying and discussing their feelings. They bake bread from scratch, or grind their own wheat, or know the best kinds of non-white-sugar-sweetners that you can buy at the health food store. And they never, ever, EVER watch any of that nasty old television. In fact, they've taken their televisions out of their living rooms and have turned them into planters.
Inadequate. Makes me feel completely inadequate. And not in a way that makes me want to "improve myself." The kind that makes me kick the magazine into the trash and watch Fear Factor on TV.
I told a friend once that if I ever wrote an article for a Catholic magazine, it would have to start with these words: I live in a house covered in white dog hair. Catchy opening, huh? But at least maybe some other woman, struggling to make it through a day would nod and think, "Yeah. Me too."
i still say we should start our own catholic mamas magazine. i wonder what the title should be. . .
In one Catholic family mag I read a housecleaning article in which the supposed "before" pictures looked mighty clean to me, but the author was bewailing the ... uh... oh, yeah, the small pile of neatly piled books on the floor next to the couch, the towel hanging out of the hamper (but not on the floor), etc... Boots by the back door? Tsk Tsk! Not much help with cleaning my own little overcrowded place :)
--Amanda
Mama T, you sure that you don't live in my house or somethin? White dog fur as a "design element", books everywhere, etc . . . . Maybe it's a decorating style that the style magazines just missed. :)
Just promise me your publication won't be the magazine version of Jannete Benkannoying. I love what she says, but geesh is it just me or does she sound like there's nothing much going on upstairs?
You can have my copy of spin sisters after I finish reading it.
it is tough slogging for me, though
i much prefer to read lighter stuff - like scott hahn.
happy blog birthday gals!
Am waiting for your article......(I, too, live in a house covered with white dog hair - loosely held together with black and orange dog hair!) If you decide to start a publication for not quite perfect Catholic women, give me a call. I'd love to be your NorthWoods correspondent. :)
(I like Faith & Family, but it is the religious Martha Stewart....makes me feel terribly incompetent.....and messy....and the my kids don't look too pious in comparison, either.)
Don't feel bad. We gain weight every time we sit on our couch (from all the black dog hair that appends to our buttocks!).
If it makes you feel any better, here is a true story.
A group of us got together to talk about home management some time ago. This was not supposed to be a how-to meeting but more of an opportunity to learn from one another.
During the evening, one of the ladies revealed that she has hired help. Others tell stories of their successes and failures and I came to realize that if your house is always in immaculate condition, you are either a little neurotic or you are not allowing your children to live in the house.
Someone wondered aloud how a certain well-known Catholic author and homeschooling mother seem to manage so well. A lady in the group revealed that this author's house was a big mess when she had paid her an unannounced visit just weeks before. Things aren't always as they appear.
This is not to say that one shouldn't strive for order in the home but we should all recognize and know what our priorities are. Should I clean up a room or feed that hungry baby?
I am much more efficient when the house is in a somewhat orderly state.
cooking and cleaning can wait till tomorrow
children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow
so go away cobwebs, dust go to sleep
I'm nursing my baby and babies don't keep
(from poem for a fifth child - I can't remember the author)
I love it I love it and I am adding you to my blog roll I so look forward to reading more!