Mutha Magazine Article Allison

Allison grew up in a house where her own mother, Diane, was a martyr of the highest order. Diane made her own yogurt. Diane ironed her husband’s boxer shorts. Diane volunteered for every bake sale, every field trip, every church potluck, and then collapsed into a glass of white wine every night at 8:47 PM, her eyes blank as two dimes.

But something has shifted.

Her phone buzzed: a text from the school nurse. “Mila has a headache. Please pick up.” mutha magazine article allison

“The myth is that mothering is instinctual,” she says. “But instinct doesn’t require you to remember 47 passwords for 47 different school portals. Instinct doesn’t require you to pack a ‘calm-down kit’ with kinetic sand and a breathing star. Instinct doesn’t make you the CEO of a failing small business called your family.” Allison grew up in a house where her

And she realized: She hated that phrase. You’re doing great. It was a benediction for a religion she no longer believed in. Great at what? Great at suppressing a migraine to attend a birthday party? Great at saying “it’s fine” when it was very much not fine? Great at performing calm while her amygdala was screaming? Diane volunteered for every bake sale, every field