Are you "Mom"-enough.....Are you kidding?

I'm guessing by now most have seen the eye-grabbing magazine cover of TIME? Yes...No, well sorry I'm not going to post the image, but if you have not seen it...then I suggest you Google it or I will just say it showcases a mother breastfeeding her preschool-aged child (who looks rather older than three or four) with the mighty title, "Are you Mom enough?"
So, my initial thoughts were really? Now, I will preface that I have not read the article, I'm not really interested, I've read about attachment parenting when I had my first child, I took some of the recommendations like baby wearing and I breastfed both of my children during their first year of life and I'm pretty damn proud of myself, considering I was pretty grossed out by the idea prior to having children. It was only until I had my first that it seemed like the natural thing to do, little did I know how challenging my first child was going to be when it came to breastfeeding as she didn't want to latch, but we worked through it and proved to be the greatest bonding ever.
Yet, even if you follow the attachment parenting recommendations, why on earth would you pose on the cover of a widely circulating magazine with your child like that? I mean, come on....that image is going to haunt that child for the REST of his life, especially in the "digital age."

My second issue....why the title? The media is insisting that there is a war on women, so of course let's include the now war on mommies....I mean really, let's ask all the moms "Are you mom enough" if you don't breastfed your walking/talking preschooler, come on TIME, seriously?
Here's a thought, how about you cover issues that really concern moms or families for that matter. If we are being honest about it all, we live in a nation that doesn't support mothers, we give the least amount of time for maternity leave, and if there is maternity leave, moms are lucky if it is PAID maternity leave, not to mention the sick days we have to take when a child is ill or creating the false idea that somehow women can be it all without sacrificing something. (And I'm sorry to burst the bubble if you are a woman and somehow buy into the "I can have it all" fantasy) it simply doesn't happen because at the end of the day, something has to give and most often that something is "us," if not relationships or work. We put it all on our shoulders and seem to think the weight we carry isn't going to break.
So, instead of trying to push a further divide among mothers on yet another issue, how about an article on how moms make it work. Because one thing I've learned is that motherhood is not at all what I envisioned, it is challenging, it is rewarding, and it is empowering. Look at it....I am a superhero, a villain, a fighter, a healer, a communicator, a translator, an entertainer, a manager, a peacemaker, a teacher, a personal chef, a friend, and so forth. Being a mother is the best thing I could be and for the record....I am mom enough....and so much more.

“New mothers enter the world of parenting feeling much like Alice in Wonderland.
- Being a mother is one of the most rewarding jobs on earth and also one of the most challenging.
- Motherhood is a process. Learn to love the process.
- There is a tremendous amount of learning that takes place in the first year of your baby’s life; the baby learns a lot, too.
- It is sometimes difficult to reconcile the fantasy of what you thuoght motherhood would be like, and what you thought you would be like as a mother, with reality.
- Take care of yourself. If Mommy isn’t happy, no one else in the family is happy either.
- New mother generally need to lower their expectations.
- A good mother learns to love her child as he is and adjusts her mothering to suit her child.” 
- Debra Gilbert Rosenberg