Fragmentation

[letter to a friend]
I know what [the] problem is: fragmentation. It has been my constant companion for about 30 years.  I remember well three kids vying for my attention and me wanting to do a hundred other things, for myself, my husband, my parents, my friends. These days, no one really makes any demands on me, but I still feel fragmented because my family is so scattered, and because I want to do so many things, for myself, my husband, my parents, my friends. I see the same dynamic operating on Lisa, whose life is even more complicated than mine was (is) with two jobs. She says, “how is my life any different from any other working mother any where else in the world?”