Guest Post by Keturah Kendrick, a blogger and podcaster who centers the experience of “free black women” in much of her work. A world traveler, she has lived on three continents and traveled to over a dozen countries. In her first collection of essays, Keturah explores a woman's choice to remain happily childfree while critiquing the cultural narrative that black women, particularly, exist solely to birth and care for children. Her collection is scheduled for publication in June 2019. You can follow Keturah on Facebook or Twitter (@happysinglegal). You will get used to having the same conversation. It usually starts as a result of your inability to hide that children don’t drive your uterus
I’ve always had a love hate relationship with Mother’s Day. Of course, I call my mom and tell her I love her and that’s always a nice way to recognize the day. But I am also a woman over 40 without children so going out in public, hearing people assume that I am a mother, and wishing me a Happy Mother’s Day is one of my least favorite things in the world. In truth, mother’s day is not about me, nor should it be. No one has to justify to me that I am a “mother in other ways,” or that I am “Piglet’s mommy.” But this year, there is a different cloud hanging over the day. The woman who was effectively my mother-in-law passed away last October. She and my partner Matt were very close. His father
Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a health psychologist in private practice in Southern California. She is a Certified PCOS Educator, a frequent lecturer on women’s health, and the founder of the popular website, PCOSwellness.com. She is dedicated to education, advocacy, and empowerment for women and girls with PCOS. Last month was National Infertility Awareness Month, and that elicited a lot of strong feelings in women with PCOS. Personally, it always leaves me feeling a little sucker-punched in the gut, even though I know it’s coming, every year. Similarly, Mother’s Day being around the corner can bring up feelings of sadness, depression, anxiety, jealousy, anger, and more. You see, if you weren
