A Mother’s Courage

Photo by mana5280 on Unsplash

Oh, how I wanted to write about the courage that you develop during the entrepreneurial journey. It’s profound, isn’t it? The constant learning, the consistent visibility, the rising to the occasion, again and again, changes you.

And as a female entrepreneur, I wanted to write about the lack of courage companies are demonstrating when they recall employees to an office because they are afraid their culture isn’t strong enough to weather remote work — your problem, not ours.

And as a mom and mompreneur, I wanted to write about the lack of courage our country demonstrates when some choose to skip masks and vaccines, knowing full well it endangers our children and vulnerable populations.

I was going to share all the ways working mothers’ futures hang in the balance, why the great resignation is more real for women, why the nearly 2 million women who’ve left the workforce during the pandemic are just the tip of the iceberg.

But then, I remembered a day in early 2013; I went back through my journals to confirm the date — 3/13/13 — when a friend sent me this piece.

I can’t imagine that it was written to address the systemic failings above, but it does illustrate a mother’s courageous heart.

And since this week, we are writing about courage, know this: A mother is grace under pressure — but she will become a fierce mama bear when continually backed into a corner.

Stop Pushing Working Mothers

We want to work, some of us love our jobs, some of us need the income, some of us are too brilliant to be sidelined, but you make it nearly impossible, and winter is coming, and here we go again. Cases are up, our children are threatened, and once again, we will be asked to bear the burden for the sake of our economy.

I couldn’t find who wrote it, so I’m sorry that I didn’t attribute it. Thank you to whoever she is.

We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of “starting a family.” “We’re taking a survey,” she says, half-joking. “Do you think I should have a baby?”