Pinterest Moms

(Disclaimer, if any of these things apply to you, know that I am not dissing them. Just sharing my observations and how they do or don't always apply to my life.)

Pinterest. It is a love/hate relationship. So many good ideas, so many opportunities to make a person feel inferior. So many things that make you go what the heck. I enjoy Pinterest over all. Knitting patterns, random things that make me happy. The fun stuff. But then there is the Pinterest Mom. I made the fatal mistake of looking up stay at home mom stuff. Holy crap. And now my feed is full of this... this... damn, this ain't me stuff.

Here is the Pinterest Mom based on what I see. She is -

• A Christian woman who knows her place is in the home.
• Spends at least 10 minutes every morning reading her bible before waking up the kids and making them a large healthy breakfast.
• Only have small/young children. (I'm not sure what happens to these women when their children grow up. They seem to disappear. This has me a little worried.)
• Home schooling or private schooling.
• Works from home. Usually as a blogger. Main themes are mommy blog or healthy eating blog. Often the two are combined.
• Either stays in shape by doing yoga or embraces whatever weight they are. No in between. 
• Are always fighting the stay at home mom frump. 

What kind of mom I am -

• Atheist liberal feminist stay at home mom. Staying home with the kids worked for us. But it doesn't work for everyone. And there is nothing the fuck wrong with that. 
• Going back to the atheist thing, I don't read the bible. I do try to meditate in the mornings. It is pretty much the only time my mind is quiet. My kids get themselves up and make their own breakfast. They have done that for years. I'm not saying I never made them breakfast, but there is this magical thing called cereal and this miraculous item called a toaster.
• My kids are older. The oldest is a few weeks away from 20 and the youngest is 17. You don't hear much about moms with older kids. That is when the work from home articles really kick in.
• We went with public school. If some other type of schooling works better for you then definitely do that. But public school is not the devil. Some teachers probably are, but you get that no matter where you go to school.  
• I don't work from home. In this case, I'm cool with working from home. Extra income is a good thing. Go you! But please please please be chill about it.
• Overall no problem with the staying in shape or embracing wherever you are body-wise. I'd just like to see some balance. It also seems like the two groups are always bashing each other. That isn't cool.
• Okay, the stay at home mom frump. Tricky issue. I love looking at capsule wardrobes. I like looking put together. Some days I even wear makeup! But it is forced down our throats. How dare we look like we just rolled out of bed? How can you have any dignity wearing pajamas while dropping your kids off at school? The shame you must feel wearing workout clothes when not working out! Dude. I know these people writing this stuff aren't a reflection of real life, but do they know that? Do you want to look fancy? Go for it. Are you happy in leggings and a sweatshirt? Awesome. Jammy day every day? Hell yes.

Are there any other non stereotypical moms out there? Any stay at home moms who would be shunned by the godly women who firmly believe the husband is head of the household and has the final say on everything? I know there are. Somewhere. Just not on Pinterest.