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Mothers operate according to a profound sense of duty. This is so poignant and how I often describe my feelings toward motherhood. Thank you for all you do Zawn

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I'll never forget the one time I tried to outsource help -- a house cleaning service -- and the boss said it would cost more/take longer because of how much there was to do. I said I understood, that I'd been juggling my father's last days in the hospital and death over the last month on top of my taking care of my 3 kids (2 special needs, one a baby). She pressed that they wouldn't actually have time to complete the service, and I expressed stress and she said, "Listen, I don't mean to mom shame, but..." My husband was working from home. He was literally home AS they were cleaning. Yet it fell onto me.

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I want to add that good fathers also communicate with their partners without asking. It's all well and good to share the load, but you gotta tell your co-parent (whether in a relationship or not). Eg if dad takes the kids to the dentist, then he needs to give at least a quick rundown to their co-parent about what happened or what was said during that appointment so that the other parent can implement the same changes or buy the right toothpaste or whatever.

I also have a question: Are there or were there matriarchal societies that we can use as a reference? I'd love to learn about them!

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