Are we evolving? January, 2022

"When did that happen? Was that Divorce number 14 ?" In the same way that historians often refer to war timelines when attributing other momentous occasions in history, my husband (John) and I attribute some apocalyptic disagreements as "around the time of divorce number....". Our parents, though progressive in their own right, came from backgrounds that limited access to education extending beyond high school. Making a living and paying for the expenses of the children they truly wanted was their goal. Most of our (John and my) children and grandchildren live in either the Boston, Massachusetts or the Portland, Oregon areas. I often dream of the times in which I have the honor of spending precious moments absorbing the perspectives of our grandchildren while sculpting faces or adding dimension to our tie die tee shirts. I am a mother. I am a gramma. I have (quite literally) taken over 40 classes in parenting from a variety of sources. I have read 60+ books on parenting and grandparenting. And I have achieved my goal of counterposing what I've learned about parenting from my own parents. Naturally, there is so much more to learn. I pay attention to parents. Mostly moms. Women report spending more than 65 weekly hours of unpaid labor during this unprecedented time at home due to the pandemic (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-21/coronavirus-almost-doubles-the-housework-for-working-parents).​ I love people in general. And, goodness knows....I sure love children. Can we allow this backdrop of crisis determine what our roles as parents will continue to be? Or do we insist in our own creative ways that all genders do their parts in the home and allow each other the creative freedom afforded all human beings since inception?