White Trash Mom Handbook: Embrace Your Inner Trailerpark, Forget Perfection, Resist Assimilation into the PTA, Stay Sane, and Keep Your Sense of Humor

Preface Why Perfection Is Overrated Modern mothers are expected to look like Heather Locklear and pull down a six-figure salary while home schooling the kids. This standard of perfection is the status quo in today's culture.I began writing a blog in August 2005 as a way of dealing with some of the ridiculous and insane expectations that are part of modern motherhood. I called my blog White Trash Mom. I gave it a trashy name and wrote about my life with a snarky and humorous tone. As soon as I started the blog, the floodgates opened. I heard from women all over the United States and the world, and many women identified with me and told me their experiences of living up to perfect expectations. I can't tell you how many times I hearI thought I was the only one who felt that wayorI thought I was the only one who thought that was wrong.I was not alone. You are not alone. Mothers have to stick together in the face of outrageous ideas of how we should look, behave, and live. The current state of motherhood isn't going to change overnight. Your kids will be grown by the time real change occurs. But because things aren't going to change any time soon, my book is an attempt to offer some ideas and shortcuts to make the wait time more pleasurable.Fight the Insanity with the Right WeaponsMothers are expected to do the impossible on a daily basis, wearing six-inch pumps and a thong. The expectations are insane and moms can't win that battle. Since the mothers are set up to fail, I believe we should fight back by whatever methods we can. Wecan'tplay by the rules because the rules, in the words of my teenager...suck. That's where White Trash Mom comes in."White Trash" Is a State of MindThere are a lot of crazy ideas about what makes a good mother these days. If you don't have a body like a movie star, pull down a big salary, dress like a sex kitten, and home school your kids, you are a loser. You are a failure if you are not a supermom. In fact, trying to be the perfect mom can only drive you crazy.Once you admit to yourself how ridiculous some of the expectations for moms are, you can begin to change your attitude and become what I like to call a White Trash Mom.No Trailerpark NecessaryA White Trash Mom doesn't have to be white or trashy or live in a double-wide down by the river. It has nothing to do with socioeconomic status.A White Trash Mom represents a philosophy and a perspective on motherhood. Being a lifelong smart-ass, I gave this philosophy of parenting a smart-ass name.It's a name I chose to represent the opposite of perfection. Perfect is in... so if you're not a perfect mom, you're a White Trash Mom.This book is an attempt to help you find your perspective on motherhood. Navigate your own shortcuts through the insane expectations. You can call your philosophy "Yankee Fabulous" or "Santa Monica Slacker." Call it whatever you want but find a way to work around the rules.Why I Became a White Trash MomIt was not my lifelong goal to become known as White Trash Mom. I began writing about white trash motherhood in protest against the onslaught of "shoulds" and "musts" we moms face every day. We all know these expectations are unrealistic, but we can't help but hold ourselves up against them and become discouraged when we can't measure up. We know it's propaganda but it can still make us feel just a teeny bit inferior. We have encountered these unrealistic expectations in the media, our neighborhoods, and homes.Mothers Who Look LikeLamar, Michelle is the author of 'White Trash Mom Handbook: Embrace Your Inner Trailerpark, Forget Perfection, Resist Assimilation into the PTA, Stay Sane, and Keep Your Sense of Humor' with ISBN 9780312371227 and ISBN 0312371225.