when the kids at school asked
where my mom worked
i lied and said at the factory
like all the other moms
i was too embarrassed to admit
she didn’t have a “real job”
even though “stay-at-home mom” meant
she was a full-time caregiver
driver
chef
secretary
tutor
cleaner
best friend
of four kids and
the world’s definition of a “real job”
couldn’t begin to cover all that
page 96 from home body
which jobs are good? which jobs are bad? which ones make us feel ashamed? who gets which job? what colour? what age ? what “gender”? what passport? who gets paid? who works hard? who deserves billions? who is “lazy”? who works minimum wage? who is intelligent? who is valued? who is worthy of praise ? who is disposable? who is invisible? who is saved?
inspired by my mamma who is my life and breath. i def did not help around the house as much as i should have 😂 before i wrote this i was just thinking about how embarrassed i used to get if people asked me where my mom worked. because she didn’t work. she stayed at home to take care of her four kids while dad drove a truck. we were immigrants. childcare was unaffordable- her minimum wage factory job wasn’t going to cover it. it took me a long time to shake the embarrassment off and embrace the valuable work she did- even if western standards didn’t value it.
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