I felt SO SEEN by the "weaker sex" piece, and have also found exercise to beat out medication in managing anxiety. I know you and the author of that piece both have boys, but I'd love to know how moms of girls are thinking and talking about this. I've noticed that my tween daughter no longer gets a reasonable baseline of exercise through "play" as my teenage son still does, and it makes me very curious about how mental health in young girls is impacted just by no longer having regular, low-key movement in their days- if they're not in sports, which are often getting pretty competitive at that age and can introduce all kinds of other pressures, it's really easy for them to just not have very much activity. Combine that with an increased tendency to ruminate and you suddenly have a not-great mental state...
That Iceberg of Traditional Christianity video was a gem! I just watched another of his and will have fun slowly going through them. My church's Sunday school class is church history right now & I'm learning so much (grew up nondenom evangelical so have a lot of gaps to fill 😅).
Thanks for sharing links! I am similarly tempted by that postpartum plan, but have to be so careful with exercise when I’m also sleep deprived. But I do find that diligently working on postpartum core rehab really reduces the back pain from babywearing and constant bending and holding and nursing. (Also it totally cracks me up that people wear weighted vests on walks like it’s this big life hack. I’m like yea… I just baby wear? Does that count as rucking for 10 hours a day?)
Oh yeah, in my mind it would be less a strict 12-week postpartum plan than a plan for the first year or so for me. Sleep deprivation is no joke, and lifting and carrying the baby all day is its own exertion. But I was lax about physical postpartum care of any kind in the past, so I need a bit of inspiration and structure for the various areas that need attending to (without needing to make out-of-home visits to see a pelvic floor PT person, in particular - how are moms even managing that logistically, as much as I appreciate their expertise??)
i'm 12ish weeks (what is charting at 18m postpartum) and so nauseous/tired but i ate three meals two days in a row this week and cleaned my whole kitchen today so i think i'm finally on the upswing.
relatable hahahaha. i've been very halfheartedly (quarter-heartedly?) doing my bradley course exercises from my pregnancy with V three--four??--years ago... but i have no motivationnnnnnn
I really loved this collection of articles about work/jobs. It's something I've been mulling over a lot, for a long time, with cross-connections through the mommy wars, tradwife-ism, and medieval Christianity v.s. enlightenment-affected faith. Something that I'm musing on and have not yet arrived at a conclusion over: I think the conversation about work/ jobs etc might not only vary by individual, but by gender. This is anecdotal, but in my experience, most people who find something they are deeply interested in, and remain deeply interested in (enough for a decades-long career), tend to be men. I'm not sure if this is (a) actually generally true and (b), if so, is it nature's way of making room for childbirth/ rearing in women's lives? Or could it be (c) a response to the more seasonal and cyclical nature of a woman's life?
There's so much to this right?? Those gendered differences—whether anecdotal or widespread—are interesting. Maybe the women who DO sustain a one-track trajectory/interest/career throughout their lives are so impactful and visible that perhaps they loom as a larger demographic than they actually are.
In our current economic setup I wonder how much of differences in women's desire and ability to sustain a decades-plus-long career type thing is affected to varying degrees by the influence of...
1) their own passions/calling/life vocation (ie: I was made for this!)
2) simply what works in their situation to make money, whether needed or not (ie: it's just a job!)
3) the effects of a spouse's work—breadwinner? if so, a lot of financial resources or are things very tight? does he have a flexible schedule? a similar work path? etc—regardless of whether children are in the picture.... which could potentially allow wiggle room for a dance that otherwise wouldn't exist if they were single. (ie: I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if my husband wasn't doing what he's doing!)
I think about this stuff all the time, honestly. haha Work, jobs, vocation, calling, provision, practicalities, etc.... there's so much that goes into these things. And all variables accounted for, would most women have a naturally fluctuating trajectory or set of interests across time, chosen freely? That’s fascinating to think about.
Intrigued by the medieval Christianity vs. enlightenment-affected decisions......! Maybe an extra special Cultivating Clarity post idea for the future.
Yes to all of this! Such fascinating questions. I'd love to know if in history it was more common for women to have the one trajectory because life expectancy was shorter, or if the culture/ market called for it, e.g. 'we are a family of bakers'. As you put it, "all variables accounted for, would most women have a naturally fluctuating trajectory or set of interests across time, chosen freely?" I'm inclined to think that our brains are (in general!) more wired for cross-connection... looking at someone like Hildegard Van Bingen who was highly educated for her time - she wasn't just talking about one thing forever. But then again, neither was Albert the Great... lots to mull over with this.
She's simply one of the best! Especially in communicating these themes of healthy human interdependence vs. complete autonomy - which show up in more places than one.
Hey Haley. Hope all is well. How do you primarily consume the books you read? Do you use Kindle or Audible? As I was reading through this weeks post and your GoodRead reviews I was curious what’s work best for you. I’d love to read more books this year.
Mostly audiobooks, but physical ones for those not available that way (I'm a slow reader and have more time for audio listening.) Hoopla, Everand, Libro... Audible as last resort: https://lifeconsidered.substack.com/p/2024-books-and-reading
I felt SO SEEN by the "weaker sex" piece, and have also found exercise to beat out medication in managing anxiety. I know you and the author of that piece both have boys, but I'd love to know how moms of girls are thinking and talking about this. I've noticed that my tween daughter no longer gets a reasonable baseline of exercise through "play" as my teenage son still does, and it makes me very curious about how mental health in young girls is impacted just by no longer having regular, low-key movement in their days- if they're not in sports, which are often getting pretty competitive at that age and can introduce all kinds of other pressures, it's really easy for them to just not have very much activity. Combine that with an increased tendency to ruminate and you suddenly have a not-great mental state...
This is an EXCELLENT point. Would be curious to hear any other input here.
That Iceberg of Traditional Christianity video was a gem! I just watched another of his and will have fun slowly going through them. My church's Sunday school class is church history right now & I'm learning so much (grew up nondenom evangelical so have a lot of gaps to fill 😅).
He's really, really great. I appreciate the ecumenical dialogues he's been having.
Another heaping teaspoon into the ocean. I appreciate this week's collection so much!
Thanks for sharing links! I am similarly tempted by that postpartum plan, but have to be so careful with exercise when I’m also sleep deprived. But I do find that diligently working on postpartum core rehab really reduces the back pain from babywearing and constant bending and holding and nursing. (Also it totally cracks me up that people wear weighted vests on walks like it’s this big life hack. I’m like yea… I just baby wear? Does that count as rucking for 10 hours a day?)
Oh yeah, in my mind it would be less a strict 12-week postpartum plan than a plan for the first year or so for me. Sleep deprivation is no joke, and lifting and carrying the baby all day is its own exertion. But I was lax about physical postpartum care of any kind in the past, so I need a bit of inspiration and structure for the various areas that need attending to (without needing to make out-of-home visits to see a pelvic floor PT person, in particular - how are moms even managing that logistically, as much as I appreciate their expertise??)
Girl, I am *hype* about the prenatal and will also be eyeing the postpartum come august. Thanks you and Haley for sharing!
👀👀👀 I had this feeling…
it's contagiousssssssss lol
i'm 12ish weeks (what is charting at 18m postpartum) and so nauseous/tired but i ate three meals two days in a row this week and cleaned my whole kitchen today so i think i'm finally on the upswing.
<3 <3 <3 yessss baby!!!
I'm just starting at 27 weeks, currently so sore just from some stretches hahahaha So maybe get on this sooner than I did.
relatable hahahaha. i've been very halfheartedly (quarter-heartedly?) doing my bradley course exercises from my pregnancy with V three--four??--years ago... but i have no motivationnnnnnn
SARA 😱🎉😱
honored that life updates are revealed in my comments lol
I really loved this collection of articles about work/jobs. It's something I've been mulling over a lot, for a long time, with cross-connections through the mommy wars, tradwife-ism, and medieval Christianity v.s. enlightenment-affected faith. Something that I'm musing on and have not yet arrived at a conclusion over: I think the conversation about work/ jobs etc might not only vary by individual, but by gender. This is anecdotal, but in my experience, most people who find something they are deeply interested in, and remain deeply interested in (enough for a decades-long career), tend to be men. I'm not sure if this is (a) actually generally true and (b), if so, is it nature's way of making room for childbirth/ rearing in women's lives? Or could it be (c) a response to the more seasonal and cyclical nature of a woman's life?
There's so much to this right?? Those gendered differences—whether anecdotal or widespread—are interesting. Maybe the women who DO sustain a one-track trajectory/interest/career throughout their lives are so impactful and visible that perhaps they loom as a larger demographic than they actually are.
In our current economic setup I wonder how much of differences in women's desire and ability to sustain a decades-plus-long career type thing is affected to varying degrees by the influence of...
1) their own passions/calling/life vocation (ie: I was made for this!)
2) simply what works in their situation to make money, whether needed or not (ie: it's just a job!)
3) the effects of a spouse's work—breadwinner? if so, a lot of financial resources or are things very tight? does he have a flexible schedule? a similar work path? etc—regardless of whether children are in the picture.... which could potentially allow wiggle room for a dance that otherwise wouldn't exist if they were single. (ie: I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if my husband wasn't doing what he's doing!)
I think about this stuff all the time, honestly. haha Work, jobs, vocation, calling, provision, practicalities, etc.... there's so much that goes into these things. And all variables accounted for, would most women have a naturally fluctuating trajectory or set of interests across time, chosen freely? That’s fascinating to think about.
Intrigued by the medieval Christianity vs. enlightenment-affected decisions......! Maybe an extra special Cultivating Clarity post idea for the future.
Yes to all of this! Such fascinating questions. I'd love to know if in history it was more common for women to have the one trajectory because life expectancy was shorter, or if the culture/ market called for it, e.g. 'we are a family of bakers'. As you put it, "all variables accounted for, would most women have a naturally fluctuating trajectory or set of interests across time, chosen freely?" I'm inclined to think that our brains are (in general!) more wired for cross-connection... looking at someone like Hildegard Van Bingen who was highly educated for her time - she wasn't just talking about one thing forever. But then again, neither was Albert the Great... lots to mull over with this.
Haley,
Thank you for linking to my article on here! I so appreciate it.
God's blessings to you and yours,
Melisa
That piece on euthanasia by Leah is so good and well articulated. Thanks for sharing it (and all these other gems I've bookmarked!)
She's simply one of the best! Especially in communicating these themes of healthy human interdependence vs. complete autonomy - which show up in more places than one.
Hey Haley. Hope all is well. How do you primarily consume the books you read? Do you use Kindle or Audible? As I was reading through this weeks post and your GoodRead reviews I was curious what’s work best for you. I’d love to read more books this year.
Mostly audiobooks, but physical ones for those not available that way (I'm a slow reader and have more time for audio listening.) Hoopla, Everand, Libro... Audible as last resort: https://lifeconsidered.substack.com/p/2024-books-and-reading
Awesome! Thank you.