A conversation I had the other day with a friend has made me reflect a lot on the loneliness that motherhood entails nowadays.
The generation, I won't say of our parents, but certainly of our grandparents, had a wide network of people around them to lean on in the face of any difficulty that might arise.
I always heard my grandmother talk about her next-door neighbors as if they were part of her family, and it's true, their children had grown up together, they shared joys and sorrows, and they effectively were like family. Even the grocer next door, the seamstress neighbor who sewed for them, or the milkman who delivered their milk every morning, were an important part of their lives. They had a "tribe" around them that gave them a lot of security.
I have to confess that next door to my house lives a family with a child one year older than my daughter, and we have barely exchanged a greeting on occasion. I don't even know their names...
My theory is that perhaps people needed each other more before; today I need sugar, and tomorrow you need oil, and by leaning on each other, everyone got by. As society and the welfare state have progressed, we have undoubtedly gained in conveniences, but in my opinion, we have lost many other things…
If we add to this that life or work often leads us to live in cities far from our families of origin, this means that many mothers or fathers have few people or little support at a given moment.
I believe that many women today can identify with this situation… How many mothers haven't thought at some point… I'm feeling unwell, but I CAN'T AFFORD TO GET SICK… who will look after the children then?
Then there is the emotional side of women, no less important, being able to share our experience with other people and feel daily support, understanding, affection, and advice for all the new things that motherhood brings and what the upbringing of our children entails…
In this regard, and now that I am starting to delve into the 2.0 world, I am discovering that every day more and more mom bloggers need to share their daily lives, express their emotions and ideas, and share their experiences with their children… and they do it online, where, curiously, they find other moms like them with the same needs.
I will conclude with the following reflection: what can we do to change this?
And it's important not to forget that in any situation, we all have our share of responsibility, why not start doing something to change what we don't like?
I think one of these days I'll invite my next-door neighbors over for an afternoon snack. Who knows, it might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship… :=))
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