Let’s talk about my stitchings on yarn paper. Motherhood is often framed as endless giving. It praises strength, sacrifice, and doing it all. But the lived reality is different. And we rarely talk about that.
Look at the song Sweet Mother by Nico Mbarga which inspired my series The Good Mother. Although the song is a tribute from a son to his mother, notably, the word “love” is never used. Instead, the most repeated word in the lyrics is “suffering.” Why is a mother’s suffering what earns her praise and honor? The expectation to be a “superwoman” asks mothers to carry too much in silence.
For most of my life, I heard this song from a child’s perspective. That changed when I became a mother myself. From this place, I rejected the idea that a good mother is one who suffers.
Mothers need rest. Not as a reward, but as a necessity. Rest is not failure or weakness. This set of yarn paper drawings speaks to that truth. Motherhood is not about doing everything. It is about being present while remaining human.