Karen Rinaldi

Durante el verano tomé unas semanas de vacaciones. Mi familia y yo —mi esposo e hijos, entonces de nueve y siete años—hicimos planes para pasar ese tiempo en nuestra casa en la costa de Nueva Jersey. Cuando mi madre me preguntó que íbamos a hacer durante las vacaciones, le dije que estaríamos juntos, visitando la playa y el parque de diversiones cercano, cocinando y jugando en el patio.

Su respuesta fue: “Ay, eso no son vacaciones para ti. Me imagino que estarás ansiosa de regresar al trabajo. La maternidad es el trabajo más duro del mundo. ¡Puro sacrificio!”.

“¿De verdad?”, fue todo lo que pude contestar.…  Seguir leyendo »

In my recent Sunday Review piece, I addressed the question of whether motherhood is a sacrifice or a privilege, whether it is selfless or selfish. I made the argument that we would go a long way to empowering women and mothers by reframing the way we think and talk about mothers by refusing the badge of martyrdom and by heeding the language we use when we talk about motherhood. By insisting on calling motherhood a selfless sacrifice, we take agency away from her.

The responses have been varied and illuminating from all sides of the argument. Most of the men and women who have reached out to me personally have been supportive and grateful for pointing out that raising children is a joy and privilege for both men and women.…  Seguir leyendo »

I was taking a few weeks’ break from work over the summer. My family and I — my husband and my sons, then 9 and 7 — planned to spend the time at our house on the New Jersey shore. When my mother asked what we would be doing on our vacation, I told her we would be together — going to the beach and the nearby amusement park, cooking, playing in the yard.

In response, my mother said: “Oh, that’s not much of a vacation for you. I’ll bet you can’t wait to get back to work. Motherhood, it’s the hardest job in the world.…  Seguir leyendo »