I found a school sock in my handbag and nearly laughed in the car park

Dear Delyara, Not because it was funny exactly. Because it was accurate. A small navy sock, inside my handbag, next to my keys and my wallet like it belonged there. That is motherhood in one image. Other people’s lives travelling with you into every room, every role, every version of yourself, until nothing feels completely separate anymore. I looked at the sock and thought, of course. Of course this is where it is. Of course I am carrying it. Of course no one else even realised it was gone. That is the shape of so much of it. Unnoticed carrying. Unthanked, ordinary, relentless, loving, exhausting carrying.