An Open Letter to All the Mothers of the World

Moms of the world: I wish I could add a link for you to collect the wages your mothering labor should have earned, the maternity benefits you didn’t get, the sick kid days that should have been part of your benefits on the job. I wish I could include the 1-800 hotline you should have for all your questions, the speed dial crew of experienced moms that would always come when you called, someone to nurture you when you were scared, sick, sad, discouraged. I wish I could send a magical elixir to give you back all the hours (days? weeks?) of sleep you’ve lost. Above all I would give you a peaceful and just world to bring your children into. I wish for non-violent families and laws that protect women and children instead of perpetrators. I wish freedom for incarcerated moms, and sanctuary for immigrant moms, and justice for moms killed by police. I wish for living wages and decent working conditions for all moms. I wish for political and economic self-determination for the nations of the global south with women in the center of their liberation. I wish we had an ecologically thriving planet for our children to inherit. Sadly I cannot provide any of these, but I just want to acknowledge that we, as moms, deserve all this and more. We parent out of love, and our love is fierce. And together, despite all the odds, we continue to fight to translate that loving vision into the world that we and our children deserve. And love is the most powerful force on the planet and that is why we will win.

Happy Mother’s Day.

(forgive any important issues I missed. this was written hurriedly in a brief moment of childcare).