Pssstt… The Slip is in! 5.6.2022
Announcement Time
We’re excited to announce our FIRST Giveaway! Head over to our Instagram for all the details on how to enter! The winer will be selected on Sunday!
A Quick(ish) Note
Earlier this week, Politico published a leaked copy of a Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. The hysteria in the days since has been inescapable. Pro-abortion activists have gone nuclear in their rhetoric. Lawmakers in the United States House and Senate have proposed voting on legislation that would codify the right to an abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. All. Nine. Months. The extent to which some people are mercilessly and maniacally attached to the idea that killing unborn children is a right worth protecting is both frightening and shocking.
All this, in the lead-up to Mother’s Day.
We had planned on taking on a celebratory tone in today’s edition. We had wanted to focus solely on the wild ride that is motherhood and the women who claim that title. We wanted to thank them, cheer them, and share their wisdom. We will still be doing that (see below!), but feel we would be remiss in ignoring the absolute warfare that’s engulfing moms these days. You know what we’re talking about.
Men shouldn't be able to make decisions about women’s bodies.
How dare you try to define “woman.”
It’s important to talk about women’s mental health.
Don’t talk about post-abortion trauma.
Moms are incredible!
Men can give birth, too.
We must project women’s rights.
Please say “birthing people.”
Raising children is the most noble thing you’ll ever do.
You should be able to kill your child right up until birth.
Women can do anything!
If you decide to keep your baby, your life is ruined.
Childbirth is beautiful.
Going through childbirth should make you more pro-choice.
A mom always fights for her kids.
Your 6 year old can transition without your consent.
Follow the science.
It’s just a clump of cells.
Being a good mom means being involved with your kid’s life.
Don’t you dare question your public school’s curriculum.
The demands on moms are exhausting and never-ending. And no, we’re not talking about your 3-year-old asking for her twelfth snack of the day. We’re talking about the very vocal faction of progressives who demand that to be a good female, we must step into the voting booth and out of our kid’s classroom. Enough already. Enough with the shouting. Enough with the demands. Enough with the hysteria - we get enough of that already at bedtime. It’s time to stop browbeating women into being good foot soldiers for the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party - especially when it means robbing our children of their most basic right - the right to live.
This Mother’s Day, we’ve had enough.
-Sara and Amanda
Celebrating Moms
In honor of Mother’s Day, we wanted to take a moment and celebrate…you guessed it…moms! To be more specific: we wanted to bathe in the collective wisdom of women with children. So we did what anyone with a working brain and Substack would do: we reached out to a few women we know who fit the bill; moms at all different stages of parenthood. Some have teenagers, some have babies, one even has a son about to graduate law school. What do they think about motherhood, right now, we asked?
The responses we got are nothing short of extraordinary. They’re brutal, they’re honest. They’re brutally honest. They’re fitting and thought-provoking. They’re funny, and real. And, they’re all below. Enjoy.
For many years, there’s been an exclusive club I’ve wanted to join, that I knew would change me forever. No, this club isn’t a selective sorority or the Hasty Pudding Society - it’s motherhood. Despite warnings that your life is over once you have kids, or how expensive diapers are, or how painful giving birth can be, women still choose to be mothers everyday because of something inside them that says: It’s worth it.
Now that I’m expecting my first child this autumn, and I’ve seen the outline of his or her nose, cheeks, and hands in the sonogram, I’m almost a part of the club, but not quite.
Do I think lightning will strike once my baby is here and I’ll be suddenly filled with wisdom, joy, and confidence? Probably not. Do I think a lot of my innate traits — my inclination to nurture, to care about something outside of myself — will suddenly make more sense than they ever have before? I do.
Joining this club is daunting - but I think about all of the moms who have been where I am, and that gives me peace. This Mother’s Day, I’ll be watching from the outside, but next year, I’ll be celebrating as a card-carrying member.
-Evie, mom to baby boy or girl coming this November!
While I was still pregnant, the "keeping it real" reels [on Instagram] made me BRACE for the horror of postpartum life. And then, when it was actually *amazing* I thought... wait a minute... am I just lucky?
Well, yes—I was. But I felt like I had been hoodwinked by women who (despite claiming to keep it real) were concealing the whole story. Instead of glamorizing motherhood or "only showing the good parts" like everyone used to do in the old days, these moms marinate in the bad parts—they love the validation and attention they get for posting about the chaos, mess, and loss of sleep.
So now, as women scream hysterically in the streets because they don't actually understand that overturning Roe v. Wade won't actually ban abortion (NTTAWWT), one wonders why they think "forcing a pregnant woman to carry a baby" is such a horrific crime (instead of the ridiculously amazing and profoundly beautiful time that it is)... and I really wonder if we haven't tricked an entire generation of women into thinking birth is scary, pregnancy is awful, and motherhood is a terrible burden.
-Lyndsey, mom to Alice, 11 months
Nothing about pregnancy or the first two years of my daughter’s life were as advertised. First it was months of bedrest and pregnancy diseases that could have killed us both, then a 55 hour labor and hospital readmission. And just a few months later, as my husband and I fell neck deep into sleep deprivation, dirty diapers and a probable (but undiagnosed) case of PPD/PPA, the pandemic threw everything we didn’t know into deeper disarray for nearly two years. The Instagram perfect pregnancy and photo-ready hospital delivery wasn’t my reality, but what I learned and the strength I gained was worth so much more.
The first years have been grueling, and certainly induced a deep-seeded survival instinct, but they also amplified the pride, growth, grit and sheer perseverance of motherhood. Sure, I was doing what I had to do to survive a high-risk pregnancy then raise a newborn against the backdrop of a virus-ridden hellscape. But in looking back, every single day and every experience – even the ugliest and darkest – shaped me and made me a better mother and a stronger human. In those long months where I couldn’t leave my bed, I learned to cherish life as I never had before. The love I felt for a feisty little girl I had never even met only swelled, and pushed my will to survive for both her and myself. That very will and the lessons of perseverance got me through a 2.5 day labor, and then the long, dark days of 2020 and 2021.
While tropes like “motherhood is messy” and “the days are long, but the years are short” are so annoyingly accurate, the truth is that motherhood can’t be boxed into a pretty little package tied with a quippy bow. Motherhood takes grit, perseverance and strength, and while the highs might be the very reason for life itself, the lows will test everything within. But each and every time I look at my daughter, and see her growing into an independent, wicked smart and fiery little girl, I know I’m doing my job and it’s all worth it.
-Nicole, mom to Ainsley (2)
One of the most important things I've learned from being a mother is how much my mother did for me. It's something you can't fully appreciate until you are deep in it yourself. My mom was a single mother and made so many sacrifices. One that I think of often is how she woke up extra early to drive me to school (45 mins away) before she went to work. We lied and said I lived with my grandparents so I could go to a better school. It was at that school where I met friends who had things I didn't have. Things that I would grow up wanting so bad that I would work my butt off to provide for myself and my family. As I think about what Mother’s Day means to me, I wonder how I can make decisions for my kids, in different circumstances, that give them that same determination.
-Michelle, mom to Austin (8) and Lilly (6)
Being a mom of two teenagers has been humbling. All the hard work you have put into them through the years is being revealed, showing what took root and what did not!
It is no longer me reminding them what it is time for, putting shoes on, picking outfits. They now have their own schedules; socially, academically, after school activities. They no longer need you staying with them, and actually they don’t want you to! They are spreading their wings and finding independence, trying out all those valuable lessons. For years we have repeatedly said, push your chair in, say please and thank you, eat fruit not just junk, be a good friend, don’t be loud in public, tip well, show respect to others…You are no longer beside them to remind them, you are now trusting them and empowering them, perhaps giving them a little nudge of needed and saying, “it’s time, you’ve got this and I trust you”. Some don’t need a nudge, but rather the opposite, grabbing them from leaping out too quickly, full force…Their minds are over circuiting with so much information from the world, along with a crazy amount of hormones. When they ARE with me, often times they just want to be quiet, still, rest, they are pooped, and know they can be themselves around you and refuel. I have learned to be patient with them, the snappy comments, tired selves are not bad, not like when they were bratty five year olds, lol! They are just working really hard. So, if/when they are ready to talk, I drop everything to embrace those precious conversations.
I used to be glued to them, and now I am not. Our car rides are few and far between, because I am no longer their taxi. A wise woman always told me to embrace those car rides because you will miss it when they are gone, and I am so very grateful I embrace all 15 years of this car talks, I didn’t take that time for granted, and I am grateful to have used that advice. I miss them, but I am also excited for them! I’m excited for them to become the humans I have always hoped they would be, and sure enough they will surprise you with how capable and awesome they truly are, better than you even imagined!
Seize the moment, the hours are long, but the years are short!
-Becca, mom to Daylin (15), Brady (14), and Carter (7)
In less than three weeks our son will graduate from law school. It seems like only yesterday we were attending his high school graduation and dropping him off at college. The painful first days of those empty-nester feelings eventually turned into days of anticipation, excitement, and joy when we visited with him. I have been fortunate to witness his many accomplishments. I am so blessed to call him my son!
-Elizabeth Ray, mom to Matthew (25)
We’ll be back in two weeks!
xoxo
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