Christian blogger and professional mommy-shamer Lori Alexander (a.k.a. “The Transformed Wife”) is way too giddy about stay-at-home orders. In her mind, if all daycare centers and schools are closed, that means children and their mothers are at home… exactly where they belong.
Now, we walk past the daycare and elementary school and they are empty. I am thankful. The babies and children are home full time with their mothers. The children are being nurtured by their mothers if they have good mothers. This is the way that it’s supposed to be. I am also thankful that all of the public schools and universities are closed. I am thankful that bars, casinos, and some abortion clinics are closed. Will they reopen? Of course, but for the time, good things are happening and I choose to focus upon these and pray that people’s eyes are opened to the Truth.
She adds: “I am not going to allow this suffering to destroy my joy.” Of course she’s not. The suffering of others always seems to bring her joy; why shift course now?
Alexander refuses to acknowledge that some mothers would love to stay at home with their kids (in normal times) but they don’t have that financial luxury, nor does she acknowledge that some of the parents at home right now may be out of a job and worried about how to care for their families.
The average American family can’t survive on only one income. The complete refusal to acknowledge her own extremely privileged existence says a lot about her myopic faith.
It’s true families may be spending more time together out of necessity, but it’s hardly the idyllic experience she imagines either. Overnight, many parents had to balance working from home, parenting, and homeschooling all at once. For many, it’s chaotic and stressful. Not everyone is cut out to teach — or work while taking care of their kids — and there’s nothing wrong with seeking help in both areas.
Alexander is hopelessly out of touch with how most people, including other Christians, really live. No wonder her advice is always useless.