http://www.fem2pt0.com/2010/03/17/my-mother-was-no-saint/ society’s issues + women’s voices Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:19:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.fem2pt0.com/2010/03/17/my-mother-was-no-saint/comment-page-1/#comment-7026 Gloria Pan Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:38:53 +0000 http://www.fem2pt0.com/?p=1559#comment-7026 Madama, this is such a powerful piece and so beautifully written. Regarding your mother's desire to care for your cousins, that was noble and wonderful, and consistent with the tradition of women feeling compassion and taking responsibility for caregiving. A couple of generations ago, families did not scatter to the winds with economic opportunity, but tended to stay in one place, so that caregiving could be share among several women in a family - there was indeed a village to help raise the child. But in a society where the nuclear family rules, the mother is left to bear the caregiving role largely on her own - a heavy burden that can become crushing, especially in tragic circumstances when she's trying to do the right thing but finds it humanly impossible. I completely concur that EVERYONE should bear the burden of compassion and caring and love. We hear that younger generations of men are increasingly moving to also assume that role. Let's hope we really are heading in the right direction, but in the meantime, we'll continue to fight for it. Madama, this is such a powerful piece and so beautifully written. Regarding your mother’s desire to care for your cousins, that was noble and wonderful, and consistent with the tradition of women feeling compassion and taking responsibility for caregiving. A couple of generations ago, families did not scatter to the winds with economic opportunity, but tended to stay in one place, so that caregiving could be share among several women in a family – there was indeed a village to help raise the child. But in a society where the nuclear family rules, the mother is left to bear the caregiving role largely on her own – a heavy burden that can become crushing, especially in tragic circumstances when she’s trying to do the right thing but finds it humanly impossible. I completely concur that EVERYONE should bear the burden of compassion and caring and love. We hear that younger generations of men are increasingly moving to also assume that role. Let’s hope we really are heading in the right direction, but in the meantime, we’ll continue to fight for it.

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