Charmin-Ultra: Don't Squeeze Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhID-_WNy98

This video has gone viral these pass weeks before the Mother's Day approches. 

Today I finally had time to watch it, and I cried. 

It came when I experieced the height of my frustration of being a full time mom. 

Last night I went to a social event and of course I engaged in a few small talks with people whom I didn't know very well or strangers.

My occupation seemed to kill the conversation. 

People looked at me almost apologetically and had nothing further to say to me. 

I tried to offer more information about my part-time job teaching Chinese but it seemed a strech as if I tried to make up an excuse for being at home or to explain that I was doing something 'constructive'/'useful' for my time. 

It hurt. I wanted to say; hey, I am interesting. I have a lot to say even though I am not working in an office. 

Don't give me wrong. I ENJOY what I do now. I LOVE every minute of it. 

However, it hurt when people make comment like, so...what do you with all your time?

Or, a career woman once said to me, "I would like to go out with other moms but those who have jobs so we have common things to talk about."

Oh~ I cannot tell you how much I want to slap them. 

I don't have to say much about what we (full time mom) do in a day, and how we could only find time to do non-kid related things in between kids things, and how we manage to have a decent intellectual conversation interrupted by kids crying, asking for a drink, drawing on your note paper, spilling water/juice everywhere. 

Fine. This is my decision and I don't regret it, but....I am still an interesting person. Being at home 24/4 doesnt mean that I can only talk about my kids. I have many many interests. I love to write, I love classical music, I love opera, I love dancing, I love to read, I teach Chinese and English, I volunteer, and I can accomplish all this while being with my children and helping my husband while he is busy at work. 

I don't need sympathy. I just need to be recognized not for my work but for who I am. 

However, I am not going to complain about YOU v.s. ME. I am not a victim here. I need to help in situtaions like this and I need a better self introduction. 

To ALL my friends, married or unmarried. Full time mom or not. Let's get the dialog going. Any recommendations? No sarcasm allowed.