Filling the Emptiness

My two young children, clad in neon swimsuits, danced around impatiently in the backyard, checking on the progress every now and then. Our new inflatable pool—turquoise and gray with an attached blow-up slide—was being filled with the garden hose; it was taking forever for any noticeable progress. It was mid-June and the Wisconsin weather was in the low 70’s; I wasn’t about to tell my kids that even when the pool had filled to an acceptable volume, the sun still had to heat the water, cold and sputtering from the spigot, and that it was likely to take days, not hours.

MotherhoodJulia NusbaumMay 31, 2024Feminist, mother, Motherhood, parent, wisconsin, childrenComment

Choosing Motherhood

In high school, my philosophy teacher assigned each student a different question and corresponding primary sources for our term paper. He assigned me the question, “Are women free?” and handed me a Sandra Bartky article that outlined the fragmentation, domination, and objectification the female body endures.

MotherhoodJulia NusbaumMay 29, 2024Feminist, womens rights, Motherhood, Mom life Comment

Stolen or Saved

We didn’t know the beauty we would find there. It wasn’t an obvious dazzling beauty. It needed to be unearthed, searched for. Our clothes stuck to us as we ambled off the plane. The heat and strong odors of others, of ourselves, pressed in on us. We cranked our windows down in the taxi as broken Soviet buildings rushed by. Their gray concrete stark against the sharp neon green of the trees and grass.

The Culling

He poured his second, maybe third vodka tonic. He didn’t even look at me as he eased his six-foot-something frame through the sliding glass doors onto our deck. His words grazed by me as he sat down in the folding chair placing his drink on the small table between us, next to his worn copy of Machiavelli’s, The Prince.

Maiden, Mother, Crone

My dear friend is a crone. Not an ugly, withered woman. No, she entered cronehood with ample wisdom, dignity, and poise. She entered cronehood with a croning, a sacred, near metaphysical ritual where a small group of women honor the crone and her journey. “But it’s also very much about sharing your knowledge and wisdom with other women,” the invite read.

MotherhoodJulia NusbaumMay 26, 2023motherhood, creative nonfiction, CNF, Women's stories, Feminist, MotherComment

Am I Still Your Mother

When my daughter was born, I was worried that I wouldn’t be the one she would call out for in the middle of the night.

Josh brings her warm, tear-soaked body into our king-sized bed – all 29 pounds of my two- and-a-half-year-old. The bed is already fully occupied. Me, Josh and my almost four-year-old son, Miles, sprawled out as if he was attempting to make snow angels in his sleep. But I still welcome Lyla with outstretched arms.

The Rules of Karaoke

Know your muses. At the bar, pretend to browse the booze-streaked binder like it’s a doctor’s office People, like you might as well look at it since you’re here, even though you know better and you’ve spent weeks covertly planning this shebang.

Women Who TeachJulia NusbaumSeptember 30, 2022women who teach, Teachers, Friends, Friendship, FeministComment

Seeds

One Monday morning in late fall, my back and neck ached as I sat at my desk at the community college where I had recently started teaching. I tilted my head in a painful stretch as I waited to meet with the students in my writing class for office hours. I wondered if the garden I’d been toiling over was worth it.

Women Who TeachJulia NusbaumSeptember 29, 2022Women who teach, Teachers, Teaching, FeministComment

The Unfinished Agenda

He made his way around the seminar table to stand at the podium and present the paper reflecting his semester-long wrestling match with challenges to everything he had been raised to accept without questioning. “He” is a young white man – a law student – who looked as if plucked from Hollywood Central Casting for a crowd scene of stereotypic “Bubbas” attending a rally of the Ku Klux Klan.

Women Who TeachJulia NusbaumSeptember 28, 2022Teachers, Women teachers, Women who teach, Teaching, Feminist, Black women, LGBTQIA, Civil RightsComment

The Bell

A small engraved bell with a clapper sat on the teak coffee table in the room where my father lay dying. He no longer had the strength to call my mother so this was the instrument he used to summon her. I heard it from the kitchen and went into the living room.

Before and AfterJulia NusbaumMay 27, 2022childhood, father and daughter, father, abuse, hospital, Feminist, women writersComment

Blessed

Blessed are those who hit the snooze button;
for they shall receive nine more minutes of sleep, unless they accidentally hit the stop button and awake in a panic an hour later.

HomeJulia NusbaumMarch 30, 2022home, women of power, Feminist, women writers Comments

The Real Lesson

I was always working hard to keep up appearances with family, friends and anyone who I thought I needed to impress. In high school, I experienced fear. It was a fear of being caught-out for not understanding what was being taught in the classroom. In no time at all, I became good at acting. I possessed all the skills necessary to give a convincing performance and I was very believable.

Women of PowerJulia NusbaumFebruary 26, 2019Women of power, School, Education, Learning, Feminist, FeminismComment

My Lifetime Warriors

“I am Woman. Hear me roar, in numbers to big to ignore...”

How very blessed I was to be eleven years old when Helen Reddy launched her emphasise anthem to the world. With her pageboy haircut, knitted vest, and high waisted, flared jeans, she was everything I aspired to be.

Role ModelsJulia NusbaumSeptember 25, 2018role models, Feminism, Feminist, womens stories Comments

My First True Love: A Modern Love Story

I met him for the first time at my friend’s house, and it was love at first sight. His bright green eyes were captivating, and he wouldn’t leave my side the entire time I was there. He purred in my lap, fell asleep on my chest as I chatted with my friend. “He’s perfect,” I told her.

Modern LoveJulia NusbaumFebruary 27, 2018modern love, story, Feminist, cats, love storyComment

The Clock

I want to tell you about the time my sister, my mother, and I followed the desire of my sister’s heart. We went into the clock store at the mall. My sister went first when the idea came to her. She found the grandfather clock she believed would fit grandma’s house best—the one she thought grandma would want.

Holiday StoriesJulia NusbaumDecember 14, 2016holiday stories, Feminist, storyComment