Imposter Syndrome

And my favorite content from this week

I started physical therapy this week to help with some chronic pain and had a surprising moment of imposter syndrome. The physical therapist asked me if I worked, and I said that I worked part time but cared for my daughter full time. She asked what I did for work, and I told her I owned a business with a friend.

It felt weird. I felt like I was lying, even though nothing was untrue. But, so much of my time is spent changing diapers or dealing with toddler tantrums or reading endless picture books, all of which, I suppose, still feels unimportant—like I’m “just a mom.”

The truth is, though, that none of us is “just a” anything. If I didn’t have any work other than caregiving and homemaking, that would be enough, if that’s what I was called to. The time I spend leading Catholic Women in Business with my co-president, regardless of how much it is, is enough, because that’s what I’m called to.

Because none of us is enough on our own. But with God, we are everything.

Don’t miss my new article for Natural Womanhood on the fascinating research exploring the connections between ADHD, autism, and PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder).

Content I Liked This Week:

• Loved, loved, loved this piece by Jalees Rehman, MD, for The Guardian on science journalism and the need for a more critical approach.

• Thank you to

  Author - Claire Swinarski
  at
  Letters from a Catholic Feminist
  for highlighting endometriosis in your newsletter!

• After listening to this Motherly podcast episode with Jennifer Wallace, I immediately put her book, Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—and What We Can Do About It on hold at our local library.

• This was a concerning piece in The Washington Post about the increasing number of women dying from alcohol abuse. I think I’m convinced that the answer is not only better access to mental health care but also more community.

• Mary Harrington
  wrote a great piece for her
  Reactionary Feminist
  newsletter on “leaning out.” Great advice and thoughts on having part-time or no paid work as a mother.

• This Vox article by Whizy Kim on how we no longer enjoy shopping made me sad—not because I’m pro-consumerism at all but because, to me, it reflects a decrease in opportunities to just have positive interactions with people. Public retail companies are so focused on growth that they’re neglecting customer service. Hopefully, they will see that it will cost them more in the end. (See also:

  Dixie Dillon Lane
  ’s Hearth & Field essay, “Talking to Strangers.”)