Just had a conversation with a young fellow (who I have nicknamed "Seneca" 'cause he's got one of those weird beards going on) this morning, and somehow we got onto the oft heard bromide about "mothering" being "a tough job/THE toughest job".

I responded by saying: "Well sure, from their perspective, it probably is..."

And to his look of puzzlement, I explained: "It's the toughest job THEY themselves have ever done. Because for most if not all of their lives, MEN have done just about everything (and especially any/all 'tough' jobs) FOR them, and -- if they have ever done any work at all in their life previously, well -- suffice it to say that they have a really LOW standard of 'tough' for use as a comparison."

You could see the light bulb going on...

The talk went on from there a bit -- because of course it isn't just a gender thing, it's not only women, but the majority of people (men and women) in the modern western world who have little experience with truly "tough" jobs/life...

It's one reason that recent immigrants tend to do very well when they get into western world: they are often used to really tough situations in terms of life and work, so when they apply that same level of effort in a western nation, they eat the proverbial "lunch" of the typical whiny westerners.

Anyway, it was kind of a fun conversation, and as I was otherwise just sitting here taking a break from the heat/humidity and chilling out for a bit... I thought I'd share.