What Did the Umberg Children Learn?

The Commentary by Robin Umberg in the Mother’s Day edition of The Times (“Child-Rearing’s Never Easy, but Army Duty Adds New Lessons,” May 12) makes a mockery of motherhood.

As a feminist, a mother and an educator, I take great exception to Umberg’s statement that her very young children are benefiting from her absence, that they are learning the value of sacrifices. With their father in Sacramento and their mother in Colorado, what possible lessons can the Umberg children learn?

We give lip service to motherhood, to education, to children, but when push comes to shove, women and children are expendable.

VIVIAN HALL, Irvine