The 21st Century SAHM

June Wrap-Up: The 21st Century SAHM

July 5, 2016

All the stuff I wrote and some stuff I loved from the month of June

Hey friends! June was a great month over here at The 21st Century SAHM. I thought I’d put some links together in one post as a wrap-up. Thanks for following and laughing along with me!

-Karen xo

THINGS I WROTE ABOUT

#alllivesmatter But Do They?

-My thoughts on white privilege and the #blacklivesmatter movement. This piece can also be found on my “Isms and Social Justice” column on Sammiches and Psych Meds.

How Women Worship Hollywood Dads and Tear Each Other Down

-Ranting about how we as women revere Hollywood dads like Ryan Reynolds, but cut other moms down—even famous ones like Charlize Theron.

What Do You Want to Do? You’re Probably Already Doing It.

-Reflections on BlogU, my first blog conference—what I learned and how it helped me see what was already there.

My Mother’s Presence

-A story from my heart about one of the hardest times in my mother’s life, when she was having to let me go and also say goodbye to her own mother.

What’s Wrong with Your Kid? Here’s Your Answer.

-As seen on Red Tricycle, my confessions about comparing my kids to other kids—and realizing that they are just exactly as they were meant to be.

Inside Voice Podcast

-An opportunity to chat with the very funny and talented Jennifer Scharf and read my piece 7 Things I’ve Learned Now that I’m 35.

MEMES & TWEETS

Here are some funnies to make you laugh:

(found on Facebook and Instagram)

Kids, we shouldn’t judge. We should accept people for who they are.

3: I want mustard with my chicken nuggets.

You’re sick and wrong.

— Karen Johnson (@21stcenturysahm) June 23, 2016

So proud of my kid for eating vegetables!

Friend: He’s just eating dip off a carrot stick.

So proud of my kid for being near vegetables!

— Karen Johnson (@21stcenturysahm) July 1, 2016

THINGS I LOVED THAT YOU SHOULD READ

This from Buzz Feed—Because who doesn’t love cake fails?

This story about 9/11. A must read.

An important message from Kim Bongiorno of Let Me Start by Saying about the #jokesarentfree movement.

McSweeney’s does it again. I was rolling on the floor reading this.

Sammiches and Psych Meds’ list of funnies—I’m included with some incredibly funny people.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

How Women Worship Hollywood Dads and Tear Each Other Down

The 21st Century SAHM

no comments

June 30, 2016

This is on us, girls. This whole phenomenon of building up Hollywood dads and putting them on pedestals while tearing down other women. It's US. And it needs to stop.

If you follow Hollywood news at all, you’ll know that the latest trend is to bow and kiss the feet of any father who does anything remotely fatherly. Like give his kid a cracker. Or tie a shoe. The world explodes with love and praise for this latest father-of-the-year, he graces the cover of Time Magazine, and women spontaneously become pregnant by sheer miracle as they gaze upon his face. This has happened to Hollywood dads like Chris Hemsworth, Ryan Gosling, John Legend… etc.

Like many moms who have pushed writhing babies out of their lady bits after 24 hours of food-less labor, I am annoyed at the fanfare that results when a Hollywood hottie daddy basically doesn’t drop his kid on its head. But honestly, I blame us. That’s right, fellow moms. This is bullshit, but it’s our fault.

Because guess who actually gives a flying fuck about Ryan Gosling / Reynolds (either one — same point works here) and his diaper changing skills? WOMEN. Guess who probably doesn’t know the difference between these two actors? MEN. Continue Reading

My Mother’s Presence

The 21st Century SAHM

no comments

June 26, 2016

My mother was physically present for every event of my life until I left for England. And during this first time of having to truly let me go, she was also saying goodbye to her own mother.

My mother was always present, literally and figuratively. She was like a floating head—every time my sister and I turned around, she was there. She was in all of our business—snooping through our rooms—finding things she didn’t want to find, but that’s a story for another day. She was room mother, a volunteer in our school, and chauffeur to us and all of the other neighborhood kids. She chaperoned field trips and fed the softball team after games. She was everywhere we were.

It was this need to be present in all facets of our lives that made my decision to study abroad in England for my junior year in college so painful for my mother. At the time, being a naive and self-absorbed 20-year-old, I never considered how hard this was going to be for her. I was scared for me. This was my big journey. I never saw it from her eyes, from her heart.

This was a woman who had been there for every single event throughout my entire 20 years of existence, and I was leaving—going to another continent, where her presence would be absent. She would not move me in to my dorm room, as she had Continue Reading