Inspired by Belle Boggs’ The Art of Waiting—a freshly construed and wonderfully insightful memoir about fertility, medicine, and the sometimes circuitous path we take to get to motherhood—Motherwell has produced an essay series on the theme of Motherhood and Waiting. With four original pieces plus an excerpt from Boggs’ book itself, this collection explores the profound way in which becoming a parent, and being a parent, is often characterized not by action—but by waiting.
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Motherhood and Waiting, a Motherwell original series, featuring:
From boys to men, by Lisa Romeo
All the years of doing and hoping, praying and sculpting—you wait to see if it worked.
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The Lilac Grove, by Leslie Kendall Dye
I waited to feel that my first child was not enough. I waited for a hunger that can be satisfied in only one way.
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IVF RSVPs, by Amy Klein
Sorry, can’t make it to the sorority reunion. My thermometer says I’m ovulating!
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Anticipatory preparation, by Zsofia McMullin
I wait for sleep, for the fever to break, the tooth to fall out, the rash to go away.
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Takeover, by Belle Boggs
More than my body and my schedule, IVF took over my mind.
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