Elana Sztokman
25 בדצמ׳ 2023
Spouses of reserve soldiers -- mostly women in their 20s and 30s -- have been left carrying the unseen burdens of this war. They, along with their own mothers, are about at the ends of their ropes.
I spent Shabbat afternoon with three young Israeli mothers all of whom have husbands currently serving in the war in Gaza. Five babies aged 15 days to 2.5 years. Another in utero.
Smart women, with degrees and jobs and passions and interest and dreams.
Women putting everything else aside since October 7 in order to single-handedly manage the home front.
Women on call 24/7 for managing, organizing, feeding, shopping, cooking, laundry, wiping drippy noses, changing dirty nappies, calming tantrums, cleaning accidents, bathing, dressing, combing, comforting, reading, educating, explaining, entertaining, soothing, and protecting.
Especially protecting. Shielding their children from the fragile reality around us. Fragility in many iterations.
Women who struggle with their own basic needs. Finding time for, say four minutes for a shower. Two minutes to use the bathroom unaccompanied. Five seconds to run to the phone when he calls. A second to breathe.
Anything beyond that is a luxury. Maybe a thing of the past.