Broken by Motherhood
My friend sent me an article today about how a woman’s physiology changes for motherhood. The brain composition literally changes so that she is able to be more hyper-vigilant of her baby and be more attuned to his needs. While I can’t say that I am surprised to learn of this miraculous evolution that Mother Nature provides her kin, going through the process has not always been as marvelous. I grew up in a low-income household that was either chronically depressed or escaping it through drugs or alcohol. Many family members had a prison record and few graduated high school. This reality combined with having no mother and father around meant that I figured out a lot of things on my own. Part of that meant “toughening” up so I could accomplish goals. I saw what (I interpreted as) being consumed by emotion did to people and I knew I didn’t want that. So I learned to swallow tears and it worked wonders for me. As a kid, I rarely cried. I never got very attached to people and fr...