This is so raw and so beautifully put. I think it encapsulates everything that bothers me so perfectly!

I completely agree with you about the occasional comments I get from mothers telling me to deal with my pain on my own time. I definitely feel some hurt and anger around it, but I also absolutely believe that they just want their day and not to feel diminished on that ONE DAY. I always want to argue with them that my point isn’t that we should get rid of Mother’s Day or take away what little we’ve given to them, but just that it’s okay to be a woman who has a complicated relationship with this day. That both can exist simultaneously. But I never write back because I feel like it would be pointless to argue. And their feelings are so legitimate in terms of wanting to preserve what little our society has given to them. I cannot fault them in that.

And your point about the 70s and what could’ve/should’ve happened: damn. That is powerful. You are right on. ❤