Another Open Letter To a Very Mixed Up Young Woman

Dear Britney,

The silence was blissful as I wondered how you were doing but, as of today, your publicity machine, desperate for attention, has kicked in and you are, marginally, news again. You might want to let your publicists know that temper tantrums and "little girl" behavior from a fully grown woman and mother of two (adorable) little boys, while perhaps understandable under the circumstances, is far from appealing.

It does remind me, however, of why I started taking an interest in you in the first place; it was the first time I saw my little (then) niece imitating you as she sang "Oops, I Did It Again!" and danced around the living room. Realizing for the first time what the "parental" perspective has been all along, I decided that perhaps it would not be such a bad idea to keep track of you a little more in order to understand my niece a little more. I followed the stories of your breast enhancement (yuck!), your brush with Madonna and Kaballah (good grief!), as well as your partying with the Audrey-wanna-be and Ms. Lohan, and even took a quick peek at the panty-less pics to see if they were really as bad as all that (they were). I did not realize that following the stories and pictures about you would also land you a place in my heart and mind that could have led to the concern I am feeling for you now, but so it goes.

In addition to a large shot of personal dignity you also really need to stop behaving like a child, Britney, and grow up to the wonderful life ahead of you. This may be contrary to the advice of those who know they can make a bundle of money off of you if you can somehow remain in the public eye and stage even a marginal comeback, but then they do not care about anything except themselves, certainly not you or your children, and they do not care if your life is destroyed as long as they can make money from the ensuing explosion. They are morally bankrupt and have no compunction (look it up) whatsoever about doing absolutely anything in order to get what they are after. You are merely their most convenient sacrifice at the moment.

You are also using a self-diagnosis of post-partum depression to, in essence, self-medicate your own feelings about what you are going through right now. Post-partum depression is a VERY serious illness that requires a great deal of psychiatric and psychological support in order to overcome. If you are behaving like an extremely spoiled child - not picking up after yourself, scapegoating, drinking too much sugar and caffiene based soft drinks, etc. - I would say the chances of your having a significant case of post-partum depression are slim at the moment but, admittedly, I am far from expert on the subject and would (and must!) defer to those who know more about it than I do, but you are not likely - judging from the currently existing reports - to be among those who know more than I do at the moment about that particular condition. I do not rule it out as having to do with some of your problems but gross immaturity seems to be your biggest problem at the moment. (Again, in my unprofessional opinion.)

You have a wonderful life full of love, hope, and endless possibilities ahead of you, Britney, but it can happen only if you are able to ditch the prepubescent publicity urges and hoped for teen queen comeback tour and get on with your life as an adult and mother. You have to grow up even if it isn't the most financially profitable or publicity generating venture you have ever undertaken.

You are a pretty, intelligent, talented human being who needs to allow herself to blossom fully into the beauty and joy of womanhood and motherhood, but you and your publicity hounds are fighting what is usually a very natural and normal transition in an effort to hold onto a success that can continue only if it changes and matures along with you. Don't let the perpetual teenager syndrome of so many has beens be your lot in life, too.

So I say for the last time, with all of the sincerity and concern I do feel for you; grow up Britney. It is your only hope for survival in the midst of all of the perversities and pitfalls of this world.

Love,
Izzlebug

P.S. Your kind thoughts and sincere prayers would be most welcome and appreciated for my younger sister (and mother of my niece) as she continues in her battles with the leukemia that has invaded her body and all of our family's lives.