When Nancy’s six-year-old daughter speaks her truth at school, it cracks open a silence Nancy’s been carrying for years. What follows is a slow, tender change. This is a story of invisible labor, quiet resentment, and the love that grows when someone finally sees you fully.
Sometimes, a child says what everyone else avoids…
And he tries in all the ways he knows how to try.
But when Susie, our miracle baby girl, was born, we fell into a steady rhythm. It was a lopsided one that I kept telling myself would balance out… even when it felt like it would never get better.
I took on all the parenting “stuff,” while Ryan handled work and occasionally bathed the dog.
At first, it made sense. He had longer hours at the firm, and I was still working remotely, having meetings while rocking Susie to sleep with my foot. But as time went on and I took on more responsibility at work…
I found myself stitching the corners of my life tighter and tighter just to hold everything together.
As a mother, there were things that lived in my head like a spinning Rolodex I couldn’t afford to drop. From doctor’s appointments, playdates, shoe sizes, field trips, spelling words, scraped knees, bedtime stories, to the exact way Susie likes her apples and pears sliced…
I was exhausted.Continue reading…
