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A Day in the Life
Waking up the children, vacuuming the home, looking over homework, a trip to the market, sharing naps and Sesame Street…

All in a day’s work! Mothers world over multitask. But what if in addition to all this they have to struggle to survive? What if every day means not knowing how you can provide your children with a safe home and stable future?

Meet Ruth Natasha from Nigeria who gives us a glimpse into her thoughts as an HIV positive mother. Read Suzanna Camil Ali’s account of her life as a Palestinian mother at the Al’Azzah refugee camp in Bethlehem. As she goes about her day safety, politics and housework all have a part to play. See Justyna Mielnikiewicz’s striking images of Eka’s life. Eka, a half Georgian, half Russian mother struggles to make ends meet for her family.

What is a day in your life like? Tell us your story.
Amy Oyekunle
MODERATOR
Nigeria
It was not so long ago I took ‘time’ for granted. Now, as a mother, wife, up and coming career woman I earnestly long for more time. Time to be with my children, take care of the house, finish my work, time to relax....but more importantly, time to be ME! I don’t know about you but a day just doesn’t seem to be enough anymore.

I invite you to join the conversation and share your experiences about a typical day in your life.


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11 - 1 of 31 Latest | Previous
Jessica Resmond
France
Posted on Tuesday, May 08, 2007 10:52 AM
I would like to thank you all for participating in this global conversation and congratulate you for your great work!
For those of you who are in the Bay Area, I invite you to join Camerawork for their enormously popular annual PORTRAIT PARTY on Mother’s Day weekend: May 12th and 13th!
For more information, see our events listing.
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Stephanie Alfonso
United States
Posted on Monday, May 07, 2007 3:09 PM
I am a 19 year old single mother of an almost 2 year old baby boy named Alexander. Since I was little I dreamed of college and a career but I never imagined I would be a mother at the same time! Alexander makes everything so much better and everything I do now is for him. He is my inspiration and I can't imagine my life without him. I currently attend UCSD full time and after I plan attend grad school. Congratulations all mothers for being able to keep up with daily life while taking care of your children!
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DAWN TOMLINSON
Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 2:44 PM
I just got married for the second time. I have 3 girls from my first marriage and have a 9 year old step daughter with this new marriage. My days are long and commuting is a pain in the neck. After reading the stories of these other women, I feel blessed and fortunate. My life is very easy compared to what they have to endure on a daily basis. I admire their strength, it makes me proud to be a woman.
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Liz Steketee
United States
Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 9:49 AM
After reading the stories of others, then reflecting on my own, I feel quite lucky to live in what is a safe environment for my children. I often have days the are frustrating and tiring. Perhaps keeping these other perspectives in my mind can ease what I see as my problems. I am constantly amazed at how strong women are, enduring incredible hardships to be able to provide for their children. Inspiring. Now if I could just find a way to get someone to pay me that 134,000$ a year that i deserve!
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Nico van Oosten
Netherlands, the
Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 1:28 AM
Dear readers,
Just got back from a studytrip to Bangladesh. They are working on equal rights for women and men, domestic violence being one of the core themes. Women are not seen as equal to men. Men are raised to be very protective of women, so they controll them everyday. We spoke to teenage girls and boys, who participated in an educational programma and joined in to be a "change maker". The girls said that since they joined in, they were seen as "normal" human beings. The boys said they could see girls now as equal to them and have a normal conversation.
In the organisation there are a lot of men working. They are making room and space for women. They are very aware of the paradoxical situation: they have to use their power to liberate women and at the same time not be the one in controll!
It was a wonderfull and exiting experience to have Bagladeshi women and men gathered round the table and everyone spoke out freely and had the self esteem to look each other in the eyes. The young girls and boys (14-15 years of age) are the future of Bangladesh. But if that is so, then the older generation who is willing to make the change, are the switch to the future and also the first compass.
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Priya Chalam
United States
Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007 5:24 PM
I recently called my mother in a panic...
"How did you manage it mom?" i asked, befuddled, "how did you raise a child on your own, work full time, and put yourself through graduate school?"

I can barely get to work and get home. And when I finally do get home, all I want to do is sleep. The thought of balancing the needs of a child in an already full schedule is mind-boggling.

"It wasn't easy," she told me, "but somehow you always come up with the energy to deal with the situation at hand. You have to."

My mom's day in the life...? It revolved around me. She was lucky, as single-mothers go, given the support she needed from family and friends, but that's not to say she had it easy. She learned as she went. Sometimes she made mistakes. Sometimes small victories. As i suppose i will too.

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Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007 4:54 PM
Read Toni Braxton's experiences with having an autistic son on the Imagining Ourselves Yahoo! Health Blog: http://health.yahoo.com/intlwomen/intlwomen/bio/tonibraxton;_ylt=AkutqWuBHD.uWJI4QhPWiXpVgc0F
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Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007 4:52 PM
Before joining the International Museum of Women, I worked in a classroom with special needs children. The mothers of these children never ceased to amaze me.

The children were between 3 and 4 years old and so, for many of the mothers, the idea of raising an atypical child was still very fresh. Many of them were grieving the death of a dream. They worried what the future would hold for their kids.

Every parents life revolves around the needs of their children. But these parents took parenting to a whole new level. Many would pick up their children from the special day class where I worked, only to take them to a behavioralist and then to an occupational therapist and then to another specialist with the hope that they would somehow improve their childs situation.

A Day in the life of these mothers wouldn't end when their head hit the pillow. Their minds were clouded by worry about the future, and by feelings of hopelessness about starting the day over again. The work of these parents was never done.

I remember the exhaustion in one mothers face when she dropped her son off at the school. Linus must have had a rough morning. She broke down "Even the most routine tasks, like dressing him up becomes the most challenging and draining hour in my day." I couldn't begin to understand her life but I listened and tried to show her support.

Somehow these mothers cope and approach each day with strength and courage. They do all that they can for their children. They do the best they can.
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Yeimy Walker
Canada
Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007 12:22 PM
I must say living in Canada that my daily life seems like the life of a spoiled lady. I work 9.5 hours a day as a receptionist and go home to cook, clean, do laundry spen time with my dog and if my husband doesn't work late we spend time together. I will say we didn't come about our lives easy, I came to canada as an immigrant and have seen extreme poverty so I do appreciate everything I have and every moment I have because it could all go away as easily. I commend the women who struggle and work hard just to survive and I pray for their well being so they can continue caring for their families.
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Sanja
Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007 12:14 PM
Just yesterday Salary.com, the compensation experts, announced that Stay at Home Mom’s job is worth $134,121 annually! What they mean is that mothers that stay at home with their children, if they were to be paid, would earn this amount every year, while Working Mothers would earn $85,876 annually in addition to the salary they already make at work away from home. These calculations were made on the basis of different jobs mothers do daily and on amount of hours they spend on each task: mothers are housekeepers, day care center teachers, cooks, computer operators, laundry machine operators, janitors, facilities managers, van drivers, CEO’s and psychologists all in one!

Also, they found that on average mothers work 90 hours’ weeks!

These statistics serve only to quantify what we already know well enough—that the job of being a mother is more demanding and difficult than any other job—and many other jobs combined!
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Niyati Sharma
India
Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007 10:21 AM
I am fascinated by Suzanna's story "Day in the life of a Palestinian Mother". For me the daily grind involves taking care of my children: homework, school etc and while I worry about them I don't have to fear for their security.
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