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Mother's Day

   

 
  
 

    I don't know if she's a mom. She for sure didn't know that I am not a mom. I can understand the instinct to make sure that any potential mom be included in the recognition of Mother's Day. For me, however, it felt like someone confused me for a military veteran. The stolen valor of it all made me cringe inside. 

    Being a mom is one of the hardest things anyone can do. The thought of being responsible for the complete well being of another human? That is an enormous burden for anyone to take on. I have nothing but respect for anyone who chooses to be a mother. In our world today, it is a thankless task (Hallmark holidays aside).  

    On this Mother's Day, I'm thinking about how we could make motherhood less burdensome and more rewarding for moms. Perhaps, instead of everyone panic buying a weird assortment of "gifts" (oh, yeah, I saw y'all at the store yesterday), we could work toward more meaningful, impactful things. Just off the top of my head, we could address:

  • Universal healthcare, so every mom can get the medical attention she needs before, during, and after her pregnancy.
  • Comprehensive mental health resources, for the same reason as above. Particularly postpartum, moms should have access to mental health care as their entire life shifts into a new paradigm.
  • Guaranteed paid maternity leave. It is wild to me that the United States is one of the only nations in the world that doesn't have guaranteed paid maternity leave. No woman should have to return to work a week or two after giving birth. The gears of late stage capitalism aren't going to grind to a halt if a woman is given sufficient time to recover from birth and bond with her child. Just ask any country in Europe.
  • Free childcare. Childcare shouldn't be prohibitively expensive. Childcare should not be a weird commodity that some have access to and others do not. We were all children once. We benefit as a society from ensuring that children are well taken care of.
  • Good schools for everyone. Moms shouldn't have to worry about their children receiving a good education. Like free childcare, this actually benefits us all. Today's school kids are the people who will be our neighbors, co-workers, and caretakers before we know it. It behooves us all to make sure that they all receive a good education. 

    In short, we can do better than breakfast in bed, some flowers, and a card. At some point, we have to decide whether we are going to keep talking about how we revere mothers and motherhood, or if we're going to do anything at all to improve the lives and experiences of mothers. I'm pretty sure that every mom I know would rather that we do the latter. 

     

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