Jewish guilt

Jews are notorious for laying on the guilt, and Jewesses are known to be experts in the field of guilt ("How many Jewish grandmothers does it take to change a light bulb?" "None: 'It's OK...I'll sit in the dark'").

Is that why I feel so bad when I ask Craig to do more around the apartment and with Belle? Because I'm a Jewish mother and I think in terms of guilt? As I noted on Father's Day, Craig is great about pitching in and helping with Belle. But sometimes I need a break from Belle. And sometimes I don't have the time or energy to take care of the little things that drive me crazy around the apartment. And sometimes, I just need thirty more minutes of sleep.

This morning, for instance, I woke up with Belle at 5:15am after getting up with her twice between 7pm and her especially-early wake-up. She had been under the weather since Friday, and a sick baby means an exhausted mommy. So, I tossed "sleep training" out the window and went to her when she cried last night, and didn't make her wait until 6am to get up this morning as I usually do (as Craig says, the kitchen- me since I nurse her first thing in the morning- doesn't open until 6am). Anyway, after feeding, changing and playing with her, she and I dozed a bit, and then played some more. At 8:30am, exhausted from two days of caring for a recovering baby, I asked Craig to enjoy some Belle-time. Of course he was happy to get up and play with Belle, but I felt bad for asking. He's usually great about offering, so he must have been really tired to have slept so long. And he works full-time all week so he needs to rest on weekends. so I felt guilty when I crawled back into bed for 40 minutes.

I shouldn't, right? I work full-time being Belle's mom. And I don't get weekends off to rest and recuperate. And Craig was happy to play with Belle. Then why did I still feel guilty?

Damn Jewish guilt...