Activism and being a Mom

I have an 8 month old daughter, and a 33 year old husband. Those of you who are married or know the toils of a typical marriage will understand.

I'm currently running on about an hour's sleep, went to the grocery store, came home, baked, and now have cleaning, laundry, and of course dinner left on my list.

That isn't why I stopped going to the especially violent protests. It's not that I haven't any time (although I don't). I MAKE time for things like protesting. It's that I have an 8 month old daughter. And a 33 year old husband. And three cats and an especially whiny dog.

Back when I was single, a head injury just meant I'd forget to feed myself or to wear pants when someone came over, or show up at work on my day off forgetting it was my day off. No big deal. Forget to pay a bill? Pay it late. Miss the last bus? Eh, the cat'll manage. Forget to go grocery shopping? Order a pizza. Forget to cook dinner? Order a pizza. I lived off pizza.

It is different now. I can't risk any more head injuries. I can't afford to forget to feed my kid or change her diaper. I can't afford a random seizure, nor can I risk turning myself into a drooling idiot. I can't risk getting myself arrested and having to explain to my kid why Mama's not watching yo gabba gabba with her tonight. I can't I did my time on the front lines, and I loved every minute of it, and now it is simply time for me to retire to the background. There's plenty a person can do without being directly in the line of fire, and that is what I do now.

It doesn't make me any less of an activist, it doesn't mean I gave up my ideals and turned into a bible thumping republinut, it means I'm raising the next generation of activist.

So before you front liners get all high and mighty talking about how us oldies turned our backs on the cause, and you guys are the only real heroes in the world, remember this: if it weren't for people like me working tirelessly in the background promoting your events, spreading the word, gathering intel, and writing blog posts and articles, you wouldn't know what you were fighting for. So blow me.