Mother, may I?

When a columnist implied that Ann Romney's status as a stay-at-home mom does not qualify as a job, the GOP (and moms across the country) cried foul. This was immediately followed by everyone vigorously defending the "job" of raising children.
Now, granted, I've only the one (and the jury is still out on her), but I will guarantee you that taking care of an infant/toddler (even one with a physical handicap) was one of the easiest "jobs" I've ever had.
As soon as I was able, I went back to work. Yes. I said it. I went back to work. Because (and I know I'm going to get crap for this, but) raising your own children is NOT A JOB. There are thousands of blog sites written by stay-at-home mom's justifying their moral superiority and work ethic. I don't care. I did it for two years. It was harder to close at McDonald's.
Don't get me wrong; raising children well to be happy, well-adjusted, contributing members of society is one of the most important things that we do. (Moms and dads.) But, raising your own kids, even when they're toddlers, is not a JOB. It's challenging. It's frustrating. It's exhausting. It's awe-inspiring. It's fun. It's a whole spectrum of amazing things. But it's not difficult. And it is also done by every parent. EVERY ONE. When I got home from work after 9 hours, I had all kinds of parenting to do.
Also, back in 1994, even Ann acknowledged that this wasn't "work" so to be outraged now seems a bit disingenuous. Almost as disingenuous as the panoply of tweets and twits posting about how awesome moms are, and how so very difficult their work is, and how much we owe them a debt... blah blah blah.
Really, even if you want to argue that parenting is job, I guess all the moms and dads who work outside the home are holding down two jobs. (Improve your work ethic: have a kid.)
But the pendulum is swinging back now, and Democrats in the House are introducing "[t]he Woman's Option to Raise Kids (WORK) Act... [which] would allow mothers with children ages 3 and under to stay at home with their children and continue receiving [Temporary Assistance] benefits." All that bluster about moms doing real work? How do you feel about it now?

Wonder what Ann thinks about that.