多くの親御さんにとって、子供への面倒を見る一方で、家事をきちんと行うのは必ずしも容易なことではないでしょう。
ジェッサ・シーワルドという女性は1992年にアーカンソー州で生まれ、子どもの頃から19 Kids and Countingというリアリティー番組に家族全員で出演して一躍有名になった経験があります。番組自体は2015年に終了していますが、ジェッサは2014年に結婚をして3人の子供に恵まれました。
幼い子供の面倒見る一方で多忙な生活を送っていたジェッサは、家の掃除や後片付けをする時間に常に追われていました。そんな時、彼女はインスタグラム上で自宅の写真を掲載すると共に、母親としての苦労や、家族との時間を最優先することの大切さを訴えかけることにしました。
写真には洗濯済みの洋服の山だけでなく、部屋にたまった埃や、子供が汚した後の部屋やいたずら書きなどが写っていました。
This is real life, y’all. *swipe left to see more pics of my house today in all its shining glory* 1.） 6+ loads of laundry piled on the guest bed… can we just take a moment to celebrate the fact that it’s CLEAN laundry. 2.） Side table that probably hasn’t been dusted in at least 6 months. 3.） Henry’s dried spit up on my side of the bed, that I’ve slept on for who knows how many nights. 4.） Handprints on the mirror, and Spurgeon’s beautiful artwork that happened when he found a pen that was left out. 5.） Pile of diapers on the top of my dresser… pretty sure these all collected in the past 12 hours. 6.） Blocks scattered again, not bc Spurgeon was building with them… just bc it’s like his favorite thing to dump them out and hear them clang on the hardwood floors. Haha! 7.） Sink full of dishes. 8.） Oil splatters and food particles on the stovetop. Probably has been a few months since it’s been wiped down. 9.） Toddler handprint on the fridge door. 10.） Dust collection on the front of the HVAC intake…ha! But hey, at least we’re replacing the filter every month! There’s a never ending to-do list. Some of these tasks have been accomplished today, others haven’t. （We have guest staying with us over the weekend, so that’s a motivation to prioritize the laundry on the guest bed. ） Some of y’all may be thinking, “C’mon now, it only takes a few min to dust or wipe down a mirror…” I know, it is so. My reminder today has been that the same is true of the needs of the little people in our lives. I might think “I don’t have time right now.” But it only takes a few min… here and there. A few mins here, spent cuddling a fussy baby. A few mins there, singing lullabies as a toddler drifts off to sleep. 5 mins here, to read a book. 10 min there, engaging in imaginative play. Not trying to pit a clean house against interaction with kids– sometimes both are possible, tho often they do seem in opposition to one another . Just remember, whatever projects are pulling at your time and attention today, don’t forget to make time for the people around you. These are the memories that will last forever.
Jessa Seewaldさん（@jessaseewald）がシェアした投稿 –
ごく普通の光景のように思われたものの、ある画像が原因で人々の反感を買う結果になってしまいます。写真には何と使用済みのオムツが山積みになった部屋が映っていたのです。ジェッサによると、このオムツは過去12時間以内に使用されたものだということでしたが、これが原因で彼女のインスタグラムは、人々の批判的なコメントにより炎上してしまいます。
多くの人々は、彼女がオムツの片づけをさえしない怠慢な女性であり、このような劣悪な環境で子供たちが過ごさなくてはいけないのが気の毒でたまらないと非難しました。そしてそれに同調する意見が多数寄せられました。
Backstory on my previous post: As I was making out my housecleaning to-do list the other day, this thought struck me… we all try to put our best foot forward and are most comfortable posting our “highlight reel” for people on social media to see. I could’ve waited 24 hrs and posted pics of everything freshly cleaned and looking beautiful （the stovetop is sparkling, dust bunnies have been removed, laundry is folded, bed sheets are washed, etc）. Certainly people would find no fault with that… but many may find fault with themselves. I didn’t do that for a reason. Reality. Sometimes you find yourself with an 8-month-old who isn’t sleeping through the night, and you don’t care that your bed has spit up on it–you’re tired. Throw a towel down on it and sleep! Sometimes you don’t want to wash the dishes right after supper because your husband is finally home from work, and there’s only one golden hour of family time before babies are tucked into bed and hubby has to start in on his college homework… and so you put off dishes until then. Sometimes the dust collects on the side table in the spare room, and you don’t even notice it until you’re preparing for guests to stay over. Oh, and the diapers. Our diaper pail is currently outta commission, and I’m awaiting a replacement. Yeah, they were stinky, but I had them bagged up and out of the house before the pic of them was even posted. I said it before, and I’ll say it again: “I am not trying to pit a clean house against interaction with kids.” I believe in, and value, both. I really should’ve split that post into two, because it is not an either/or, but both/and. ——— Here was my thought process on the second half of what I wrote. “I know it only takes a few minutes here and there to wipe a mirror or dust a nightstand, and I am making these things priority today. I’m also going to deep clean the bathroom, re-sweep the entire house, pick up the living room, and clean out the fridge. Nothing is going to stop me from accomplishing my to-do list!” Naptime zips by, and then I hear a little voice saying “Mommy, I hold you!” *Instagram, I need more space to finish my thought!* Swipe left to read more
Jessa Seewaldさん（@jessaseewald）がシェアした投稿 –
それでも大半の女性は、ジェッサがそもそも伝えようとしていたメッセージの内容を理解していませんでした。ジェッサは自分を正当化しようとしていたのではなく、たくさんの予定に時間を取られるあまり、家族との時間をないがしろにしてはいけないということを伝えようとしていたのです。家族と過ごす時間こそが永遠に残るものであると確信しているとジェッサは述べています。
人々の批判に対して、自分が家の掃除を怠っていたわけではなく、掃除前の自宅の状態や、一般的な母親が日々直面する場面をありのままの姿で発信したかっただけだったとジェッサは穏やかに弁解しています。最後に彼女は「何度でも言いますが、私は家の掃除に気を取られるあまり、子供との触れ合いが失われることだけは決してしたくありません」と述べています。考えさせられる言葉ですね。
（大紀元日本ウェブ編集部）