Welcome to “A Villager for Izzy and Ez” by me, Ail Africa.
The title of this newsletter is such because being their mom doesn’t always mean that I know best and that I’m the only person who can give them what they need. I believe in the power of a good support system—and in the absence of actual people in a pandemic, maybe even some well-written articles, a few books on the topic, a helpful meme, etc. We’ve all heard about how it takes a village to raise a child, but even parents need their own village to grow and learn. It can be dangerous to parent in a bubble, the same way schools and education must continually keep up with the changing times.
I finally decided to write a newsletter, as encouraged by my friend Pinky. (Subscribe to her newsletter; she talks about random bits of interesting news.) I’ve decided to collect my thoughts on my parenting journey while the kids are still young, so I have a place to look back on. It also seems like a good year to start now because 2020 was just too overwhelming. (I will talk more about 2020 in future posts.)
Most of what people post on mainstream social media, including me, are curated to cute and funny moments of their children. On difficult days, it can make parenting feel lonely. For someone who has a high level of anxiety, I hope this can help me untangle these feelings better, and show more honesty to fellow parents—or even just sensitive friends—who may be going through this.
That’s the end of my short intro for my very first newsletter. Thanks for reading!
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