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Kim, thank you for articulating what I’ve always felt, but couldn’t describe, about “me” time! Next, can you explain why “self-care” is even more gross? Again, I can’t explain why, but it is.

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Ohhh! That'll be a fun one to tackle. I have the same repulsion to it. And again, it feels specifically targeted to women. I have a feeling I'm about to go down a rabbit hole…

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Goodness, I loved this whole piece and felt SO SEEN. I know this is a post I'll come back to again and again. Motherhood has been such a reaffirming time and totally changed my creativity in the best way. I signed something "love, mom" last night and felt delighted by it. It is such a sacred time, when the kids are little. Doesn't mean it isn't hard as heck, but there is so much about it that can fuel us as individuals and creatives if we take it as an opportunity (implied in this is a level of family/friend/paid support and privilege that all mothers and parents deserve). <3

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Nora- thanks for your note and I am so glad to hear about your experience. Yes it is a place of privilege to enjoy extra time with your kids. I don't know if this sits with you but the pandemic fundamentally changed me. Like the rest of the country I had to sit with what I valued most when all the outside world felt somewhat threatening. I actually feel we don't talk enough about how this time has left an imprint on our day to day experience. Anyhow that's all to say I love hearing about the joy in being a parent. Yes it's grueling at times but what an honor!

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Absolutely! My daughter was born in August 2020 and only now, being pregnant for a second time with the world more open again, do I realize just how much becoming a parent in the pandemic affected me. I had left an art fabrication job while I was pregnant just as covid became a pandemic and never went back to work -- there wasn't anything I could think of that was more important to me than being with my daughter (and I was able to make that choice). I think it's so important to talk about the struggles of becoming/being a parent, but there is SO MUCH joy (and creativity!) as well and sometimes I think that gets lost too <3

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