This Mother’s Day, I ask you to think about helping a young mom get the support and services she needs.
War, natural disaster, environmental crisis. No matter the threat to their children, mothers fight back.
My mother grew up during the war and could not afford new clothing, so she over-compensated by making us wear suits to school.
Growing up, I thought it was tough being the daughter of a migrant. But on Mama’s Day, I remember my mom’s struggle and how it has made me a better person.
The professional, older mother who is constantly negotiating conflicts between her career expectations and having a young child at home is not a face you see all that often in Hallmark cards, especially if that face is an immigrant and a former teen mom.
I spent part of my childhood in pain and not talking about it. It was better to have a cracked rib than make my mom spend her hard-earned money to take me to the doctor and get it x-rayed.
As we get ready to celebrate and honor the work that mamas do every day, I am struck by the severe disconnect between what immigrant mamas need to take care of their families and our current immigration policies.
My mom prepared me to make good decisions for myself and my body. I’m sure she had no idea at the time that she was fostering at a reproductive justice advocate. But I thank her for it.
As a parent-to-be I am elated to about the Safe Chemicals Act. But while I understand parents’ fears about toxic chemicals, this is only the tip of of an iceberg, the rest of which is made up of those with the highest level of exposure: The workers.
There’s just one thing I want for Mother’s Day, and only Congress and the President can give it to me: The peace of mind that would come with reforms to protect my family from toxic chemicals.
