operation directions essays

operation directions essays Anne Lamotts book Operating Instructions gives an outlook of a mildly disadvantaged woman. This journal is a chronicle of her son Sam's first year. She is fiercely self-deprived, funny and unafraid to talk about the dark side of parenting an infant: the fear, exhaustion, anger, emotional swings; that 4 a.m. inability to cope with the crying neediness of the baby. She questions her faith, which she cannot justify on a why she was pregnant, but still hopes that God loves and guides her the way a parent loves and guides a child. I am interested in surveying on how many new mothers have near manic-depressive, crazy feelings like the ones this author describes. She alternates hating the baby, wanting to throw him down the stairs, calling him "scum," etc.-with loving the baby so much she swoons, calling him breathtakingly beautiful, and being unable to imagine anything more wonderful ever happening to her. I got uncomfortable reading this book because the emotions were so raw and I could picture the child reading the book later in life and getting his feelings. The breakdown of a relationship, regardless of the reasons behind it, is probably one of the most emotionally draining experiences that we as adults face. This is often more traumatic where children's feelings are also involved. If one day I was going to have a baby, it would defiantly be with the man that I love. Love to me is assurance and dedication. It is extraordinarily wearisome for women to raise children themselves. My mother raised my brother and I herself, and as I got older she told me how big of a sacrifice it is as a single mother. She is a single parent barely able to pay the bills, however she has a tremendous support network of family, friends, in addition to the people of her church, all of who clearly love Sam and love her. The author's best friend Pammy is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Where she, discovers the depth and inflection of love...