For many of you, there isn’t anything we can control, push, or organize to change the world around us. It’s maddening, but it also has an upside: we can release the pent-up energy of wanting things to change and trust that things will change, eventually, at some point. Sometimes, releasing the pressure of having to do something can release us to find tiny moments of joy—or at least contentment—inside of the space we’re in.
I miss my work. I really do. I get energy from building and strategizing and just generally moving forward, and on the days when I don’t feel satisfied with how much I accomplish, I struggle to stay positive.
Everyone tells women to bounce back after having a kid. Like, don’t change—don’t do anything except, of course, become a mom and be a mother 100% and love your kids and leave work because, obviously, you’ll leave work and you won’t be the same. Except also, don’t change. WTF?
Over the past few years, I carried both of my babies so low that the skin between my belly button and my pubic bone became their permanent home. My body, stretched out in like a shelf, my baby curled up on top of it. Navigating my postpartum body and belly that was home to these babies is a journey.
Postpartum rest challenges me to learn and grow in ways that make me uncomfortable. I’m not great at resting. Snudge, a word like Hygge that tells us to remain quiet and rest, is my goal for the postpartum period. But it’s not always easy for me to do.
Emily Garnett is 32 years old. She recently celebrated her fifth wedding anniversary and her son’s second birthday. She was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer that same week.