This is such a beautiful and insightful piece, Jess! As a fellow Luisa, I relate so strongly to this song that I too cried the first time I heard it. The pressure of being your family's rock and never showing any weakness - it's a lot! Finding a way to acknowledge the rising tension, sharing the load, and making space to allow ourselves a break are so important. Thanks for shedding light on this and starting an important conversation :)
Thank YOU for being part of the Luisa club! And for acknowledging that this is a conversation, one that benefits from multiple voices, so that we can all find donkeys to feed us grapes while we lay in a hammock. At least, on occasion. 😉
I really enjoyed this, Jess. So much I can relate to, and so much depth to plumb. I honestly feel I need to read it again to really take it all in. Plus - Encanto! Now I want to watch that movie again. I'm actually writing about self care this week - mostly about how so many of us find it so difficult (almost impossible) to integrate meaningful self care into our lives with any kind of regularity. I'd go so far as to say it's a kind of cultural crisis. Thank you for adding such a thoughtful piece to the conversation.
Thank you so much! I totally agree on the cultural crisis. I don’t remember ever being taught self care, largely, I imagine, because no one in my mother’s generation practiced it either. But, they also were a generation who hid alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health issues behind euphemisms like “she just sleeps a lot.” Looking back, the unsurfaced suffering those women must have been going through is just…wow. So, its no surprise that their dreams became reality. Now, go watch Encanto again! It’s sooooo good!
This is such a beautiful and insightful piece, Jess! As a fellow Luisa, I relate so strongly to this song that I too cried the first time I heard it. The pressure of being your family's rock and never showing any weakness - it's a lot! Finding a way to acknowledge the rising tension, sharing the load, and making space to allow ourselves a break are so important. Thanks for shedding light on this and starting an important conversation :)
Thank YOU for being part of the Luisa club! And for acknowledging that this is a conversation, one that benefits from multiple voices, so that we can all find donkeys to feed us grapes while we lay in a hammock. At least, on occasion. 😉
I really enjoyed this, Jess. So much I can relate to, and so much depth to plumb. I honestly feel I need to read it again to really take it all in. Plus - Encanto! Now I want to watch that movie again. I'm actually writing about self care this week - mostly about how so many of us find it so difficult (almost impossible) to integrate meaningful self care into our lives with any kind of regularity. I'd go so far as to say it's a kind of cultural crisis. Thank you for adding such a thoughtful piece to the conversation.
Thank you so much! I totally agree on the cultural crisis. I don’t remember ever being taught self care, largely, I imagine, because no one in my mother’s generation practiced it either. But, they also were a generation who hid alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health issues behind euphemisms like “she just sleeps a lot.” Looking back, the unsurfaced suffering those women must have been going through is just…wow. So, its no surprise that their dreams became reality. Now, go watch Encanto again! It’s sooooo good!