When you work from home, the personalities on television and radio become your co-workers. Regis, Kelly, Rosie, Joy, and Elisabeth have become my water cooler friends. While working on emails, budgets, and administrative tasks, the television keeps me from feeling like a recluse who never leaves her house. Yet at this time of year, I feel completely overexposed to holiday messages. If I have to hear that Sears commercial one more time, I might loose it.
You know the one.
Scene: Mom is putting her two well-behaved toddlers and her cooing baby girl in the back of the SUV while the voice over proclaims “This is a woman who can find four thoughtful gifts in 10 minutes. A woman who can emerge from the candy aisle candy free. A woman who can change a diaper in a snow suit. She deserves a reward just for getting out there!”
When I first saw this commercial I thought “How nice. A tribute to the mom who does everything.” But as I continue to see and hear it, countless times a day, I start to think less of myself.
Could I change a diaper in a snow suit? Most definitely not. Find four thoughtful gifts in 10 minutes. No way! Emerge from the candy aisle candy free? Not on my life. Why do you think I choose the candy and tabloid free aisle?
If that Sears commercial was really meant to speak to me, as a busy working mom, it should have gone something like this:
Scene: Kids screaming in back seat. Toddler refuses to sit in seat. At least one car is waiting impatiently for the parking spot while mom wrestles with the broken stroller that refuses to close. Mom abandons stroller on curb and climbs into the front.
Voice over: “This is a woman who dreads shopping with her kids. She’s armed with a list but has already forgotten two items. She won’t realize she’s forgotten them until she gets home. Her car is covered in crushed goldfish and half-eaten lollipops. This is a woman who refuses to carry a diaper bag into the mall because she’d rather change her son in the back of her SUV than bring both kids into a filthy bathroom. This is a woman who deserves a reward for just trying to make it through the day and emerge with her sense of humor!”
