Honestly, 2022 is working against me, and not handling me very well. I am as fragile as a piece of fine china. I’m broken, broken, and tired. I have this horrible feeling and can’t see any help. I am a teacher, parent of two kids (6 and 3), wife, daughter of elderly parents, in debt. I have always been the head of the family. I host the show. All of it: chores, finances, appointments, events, shopping – everything.
My spouse works and then comes home to “fix things” and then do whatever else he wants. He was raised in traditional gender roles and it was hard to break out of these learned views of women. This year, he’s trying to understand that I can’t do it all, but I feel like men don’t know how to recognize that the load is unequal. I feel like I’m working my butt off, but it’s invisible.
In school, we are short-staffed and the kids are completely out of control. When I get home, I try to keep the chaos organized. I sleep exhausted every night. I feel like my life is like a tornado and I’m glad I touch the ground every now and then.
These days I have become more forgetful, which is not normal in normal times. Working mothers have 15,000 tabs open. Your computer sometimes starts to slow down. I had so many tabs open for so long that things slowed down.
Ten years ago, I worked three jobs and bought an apartment. I’ve been paving the way for our economy and society ever since. In 2014 we needed IVF help to have a baby, and even though I knew I wasn’t the problem, I had to endure a year of horrific ordeal. But without it, I wouldn’t have my beautiful baby. As an IVF mom, I am heartbroken that Roe fell over. When do men need to worry about their reproductive rights? If a woman cannot get an abortion, the man must have a vasectomy. America is falling apart.