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Laura T's avatar

Matt posted this and I was curious because I too had a baby in the pandemic and now an insane toddler. I have to say it resonated so much. I also cried at the 5 day appointment, the doctor handed me a postpartum depression survey…not helpful. No one prepares you for the shift not just in lifestyle or time but in how you feel as a person having just become this mother. Thank you for so accurately describing what is often so hard to describe.

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Dana Ramler's avatar

Katie, your words are a gift. Thank you for sharing your experience! Soooo much of it resonated with me. I too found (find?) myself unsure of who I am sometimes. Losing my design industry job, the pandemic, becoming a mom - they all happened in close proximity to one another and it’s all still a little tricky to untangle. What feelings of invisibility are because I don’t have a “cool job” anymore? What feelings are because society in general doesn’t value childcare and now my 7,000 hr a week job is fully unpaid? What feelings are the result of the pandemic forcing me further apart from so many friends from my “old life”…? I don’t think I’ll ever know and it probably doesn’t really matter what the exact source is, the point is that I feel you. And feel less alone in my own invisibility because you shared this, so thank you.

Like you, I cherish my new job. There are multiple moments every day that outshine ANY great achievement from my old career. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes crave some validation, some admiration, some sort of “oh cool, what an awesome job!”moment like I used to receive.

There’s so much more I could say and I wish we lived closer so we could go for an adventure with our toddlers and have an in person conversation about how disorienting this is and help each other through the haze. Big love to you Xoxox

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