Dr Laura is a bit like black licorice ...either you love her or you hate her.

When I was a full time stay at home mom I listened faithfully to Dr Laura Schlessinger, and I liked a lot of what she had to say.

Often I thought that she was way too hard on some of her callers, but what she said did make a lot of sense to me.

Sometimes though she was just plain rude and I wondered how she had so many people calling,when all of us in the listening audience, knew the caller was going to take a beating.

Over the years she's received some really bad press because of her opinionated stands.

Here are some of her recent blog titles:

Academic problems occur more often in step-families.

My DNA made me do it (young men being genetically prone to violence).

Military training good for American youth.

She stands firm that mothers should be home with small children and not working on anything other than raising those children.

Although, stay at home dads, Dr Laura says, are okay with older kids.

She feels strongly that mothers should place their dreams on hold when they have children to care for.

She is all for going back to school or whatever it is you want to do after your job of mothering is done.

She does not believe in shacking up (living together before marriage).

She believes that parents should stay married for the sake of their children, although she will be the first to say to a woman *hit the road * when you have an abuser, (physical, drug, alcohol) or a philanderer for a husband.

She then advises the newly single mommy to move close to or in with her parents to get some help raising the kids.

I totally agree with her philosophy in her book The Care and Feeding of Husbands.

Treat your husband like a King and he will treat you like a Queen.

Lately though, I think I've become the woman Dr Laura complains about...the one who gives too much to her work and her own interests and who comes home too tired and worn out to take good care of their family.

I know my kids are quite grown, and it doesn't hurt them to fend for themselves... but I'm finding that old habits die hard.

And when I think of Dr Laura and how she says I should be treating my family, well, I'm kinda falling not just short...but totally flat.

I've gotten selfish and often place myself first.

I still think it's a Cardinal sin to eat cereal for dinner, but I'm shedding no tears when we eat soup and sandwiches in place of four course meals these days.

And instead of sitting at Daddio's feet (massaging for all I'm worth), staring at a basketball game with my mind a million miles away I'm online reading blogs and playing catch up with my 454 pieces of email.

A hour or two here and there I even sometimes play free online games, I've gotten pretty good at shooting those colored balls in groups of three or more.

Yesterday I got an email from Dr. Laura's camp advertising a subject that she was going to be tackling.

It had to do with blogs.

Here is the blurb... She had been communicating with family on a private blog. She was shocked that I told her to shut down the blog. But then, 24 hours later....... Find out what she has to say, tonight at 11pm on...

Dumdumdumdum.....

I fell asleep and missed it, darn it.

On second thought... that may have been a good thing.

 I wonder lately if I could just coast for awhile on my past successes?

All those tender pot roast dinners and that perfectly filled linen closet.

My sparkling toilets and dusted mouldings.

How bout all those hours spent on school projects and ball games and plays and yummy cupcakes for a class of 36?

Foot rubs and back rubs and all the other things I did that spoke loud and clear to my family.. "you are first."

Just like black licorice is bad for my colitis, so may Dr Laura be for my soul.

I don't like her implications that "you are not enough"...my own voice saying it is bad enough.