But two things I saw today got me thinking. One was a stray cat and her kittens sheltering very close to where I work. They were beautiful animals despite 1) my known cat antagonism and 2) the fact that the five of them were clearly strays. What I saw was a mum doing her best. What I also saw was that no-one was judging. As humans we use words such as "catty" and "bitchy" to describe less than admirable human traits when in fact I think the animal world could teach us a thing or two about good behaviour. An incident in point occurred later in the day with another new mum, a close friend of mine who gave birth to her bundle of joy just two weeks ago. She asked me to take her to a specialty breast feeding shop to stock up on necessary equipment while Grandma cared for the sleeping bub. It was my pleasure. I wish I could say the same for the experience. Despite happily selling hundreds of dollars in breast pumps, bottles and sterilisers the shop assistant simple refused to discuss teats and was simply frosty when my friend talked about how her bub would need to learn to feed from the bottle when she returned to work. Well excuse me. Can we not actually support each other's parenting choices rather than being all judge and jury? It takes a village to raise a child, yet too often we all behave like the village idiot when it comes to assisting others to raise their kids. Sorry people, the claws are out today.
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