Mutha Magazine Author Z [2021] May 2026

Before I had my daughter, I thought motherhood was an addition. You add a baby to your life, like a new wing onto a house. You still have the old rooms—your career, your marriage, your ability to finish a cup of coffee—they just have a new hallway connecting them.

In the first six months, I watched the furniture of my former self get sold off piece by piece. First went the ability to read a book for more than three consecutive minutes. Auctioned. Then went the memory of what it felt like to be bored—that luxurious, lazy Saturday afternoon boredom. Gone. Finally, the big items: my professional ambition, my sense of humor about my own body, and the quiet belief that I was fundamentally in control of my life. mutha magazine author z

I was wrong. Motherhood isn’t an addition. It’s a liquidation. Before I had my daughter, I thought motherhood