This series, “excavating a mother’s wound," explores the range of emotions that I have felt throughout motherhood while seeking balance between the identity of mother and my other identities, including artist and teacher. From my perspective, “mothering” is a verb that characterizes all acts of nurturing and caregiving that we give freely or out of a sense of obligation to others.

And so often the identities of those who mother are inextricably linked to the pain, struggles, and successes we move through in our invisible and unpaid labor. In 2019, economists estimated that a full-time stay-at-home parent would fetch a median annual salary of about $180,000.00. Just wow.