A new response to my 10 questions about your feminist parenthood

Kicks + Flutters, who blogs about single parenthood and attachment parenting has tackled my 10 questions about your feminist parenthood and it is really such an open-hearted response.

Isn’t this a lovely description of a mother catching herself and pulling herself back up?

2. What has surprised you most about motherhood?
My overactive sense of guilt for meeting my own needs–a trait I inherited from my own dear mother. I pep talk myself on an almost-daily basis that it’s not only okay, but totally normal and sane and necessary to meet my needs. Whether it’s the need for a little solitude, social interaction, sleep, or the occasional haircut, every time I empower myself to prioritize and meet my needs, I’m teaching Wolfie that I value myself, that I’m a whole person–not just his mama. And by extension, I teach him to value himself, too. I’m no less adequate a parent for meeting my own needs; in fact, I’m a better parent when I do. Whenever that guilt strikes, though, GAH, it strikes hard. That early modeling is pretty tough to overcome. But most days, psychologically speaking, I put the oxygen mask on myself first.

(You can find all the many other responses in this series here. If you’d like to respond to these questions yourself you can either email me your answers and I’ll put them on blue milk as a guest post or you can post them elsewhere and let me know and I’ll link to them).