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Why We Shouldn’t Limit Empathy to the Realm of Motherhood
A tribute to all the women (mothers or not) who witness, worry over, and protect the children of the world
I still remember the day my nephew started preschool. Or rather, I remember the night before. The reason I remember is because the stakes of this particular first day of school felt quite high.
My sweet nephew, Ben, had been recently diagnosed with autism, an event that brought the entire family a sense of relief. Where questions and uncertainty had once existed, suddenly came clarity.
But with that clarity came a new path — one that would be different than the one traveled by most of his peers. And quite literally.
At the time, that meant he wouldn’t be going to the nearby preschool where he would have been picked up and dropped off by his mother. Instead, he’d be going to a preschool that offered services for students on the spectrum. And this school was several miles away, which meant sweet, tiny little Ben would have to take the bus.
The night before, I couldn’t sleep. Ben was the first nibling born who gave me the title of auntie, so I had little experience at that point of witnessing the beloved children of my family make their way in the world.
