Poetry, motherhood and beyond.
My gaze travelled downward, making out the letters ‘was here’. Someone had carved his or her name underneath my thumb but wear and tear had slowly erased it. I stared at it for a while before finding my keys and picking out the one with the sharpest edge. Suddenly, all I wanted to do was carve.
Bring back the yin/yang balance to our offices, governments and board rooms. To build a better humanity, we need to embrace our innate need to offer care and love. We need to feel our way forward, and bring our whole selves to work, not leave the mother at home.
She wasn't a pretty woman. Rough, uncared for skin, thinning reddish hair, calloused hands. Here was a woman hardened by life, I thought. Here was a woman you wouldn't want to be. Her demeanor was direct and unimpressed. As we toiled side by side, tackling yet another semi-identical room, shaking out one freshly laundered duvet... Continue Reading →
When I am able-bodied and strong, it is easy to create the illusion that I and those I love could exist in a vacuum. Nothing could be further from the truth. As humans, we are little jigsaw pieces of a hugely complex society, each performing a task so that the next person won't have to.... Continue Reading →
Once upon a work day, a friend, fellow mother and esteemed colleague much wiser than me made a statement during lunch that has stayed with me: All over our world, women having children is seen as a problem. Now, my yang side can find some truth in this statement. It is a disruption to office... Continue Reading →
Since becoming a mother, I am a person divided. Most days, I shape shift between two different roles: My mother-self and my professional-self. Even though I live in a society reasonably tolerant and encouraging of family life, I struggle to let these two persons co-exist. In essence, my mother-self is my female self, and it... Continue Reading →
On Mama's Mind 