JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
Currier and Ives produced a plethora of prints like this one from LoC. " The Young Mother ", it was one of countless gooey takes on a woman's life. ' Young Love ", " Married Life, The Day After The Wedding ", " A Year Of Marriage ", featuring blissful domestic life in romanticized settings. The company didn't produce images before and after, baby spit up, a screaming tantrum, some sweaty work over a stove and shoving toys under the sofa because you're too tired to bend over one, more time.
Dedicated to that thread of commonality shared by any of us from Day One without nannies, cooks and someone to fold the laundry.
I'm having a different reaction to Women's History Month than is usually the case. Yes, goodness, there's a plethora of women whose contributions and blazed trails make me glad to know them. There's also a collective history we share. Through time, our stories tend to be awfully similar, struggles, daily achievements, concerns and perspectives make those who were here closer to those of us here now. Left to ourselves we'd discover the whole ' We're all in this together ' perspective to be pervasive through time and leaks into 2019. What would be terrific would be seeing our commonalities, enjoying them and knocking off picking each other to smithereens.
I mean really. Reading this in an 1863 newspaper gave me a desire to meet this woman and say something sisterly. Like ' Heard 'ja '. Without the part where her husband takes a hit, it's an awfully familiar story.
Nursing the baby ( for any men getting this far ) was providing bottle-less nutrition. I've heard some of us claim it enjoyable but those women generally lie about other things too. Like what a joy stretch marks can be.
I'm sorry but was laughing so hard by the end I couldn't see. My husband- for the record the kindest man on planet Earth- asked what was so funny. I'd earlier vaulted down attic steps, another staircase and traversed 3 rooms to answer a ringing phone. Which was by his elbow. So I said maybe he wouldn't get it.