I was particularly moved by Hendley’s performance in Boy Meets Girl, which is trending on Netflix. It’s a heartwarming story about a transgender woman, played by Hendley, living in a small town.

There is time for us all then. Time to be amazing young women, time to discover, time to take chances, to write, to make art, fall in love, fall out of love, time to mother, care for someone else, find a new career, make a difference, make a mark. It is not over. It is never over.

This mom doesn't have the tight-knit family circle nor the giggling, gossiping, gabby groups of friends to call upon for support when this parenting gig gets too difficult to manage on her own. 

This is family. This is real. I have married a man who can take pinkeye and lice on vacation, and turn it into a party . . . now that’s a good man. That’s a good life.

It’s easy to have a pessimistic view about marriage in the United States today – finding statistics that say about 50 percent of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce isn’t hard. 

I firmly believe that everyone should marry a nerd.

So this summer I am saying no. Unless something directly benefits the relationship that I have with my children or my marriage or my close friendships than it is quite simply, not worth it. I am choosing them. I am choosing me.

These mothers have given me support and allowed me to support them – not in return, but in widening ripples where the original help is a legend we know from somewhere primitive. 

The incessancy of child rearing is rarely spoken about, along with the utter lack of clarity of mind when spending a full day parenting, moving from one task to the next all day long.