Color-Coded Activity Charts and Beachbody: “Momming” in COVID-19

Abstract

This piece is an invitation.

Our work consists of poetry by three moms, writing in the middle of a global pandemic about the realities of “momming” in these times. Why poems? We want the article to be short and digestible while also expressing the complexity and individuality of our lived experiences. Also, through poetry, we can invite you to bring your own story as you make meaning. In the poems, we struggle with ideas including discipline, “being enough,” and the fact that things are fucked up. We are also left with the nagging question, “What leisure can we have on a regular day, much less in the midst of a pandemic?”

Keywords:

• Emotional labor
• coronavirus
• gender
• mother
• feminist
• COVID-19

Notes

1 Isis the Scientist (2020)