in the family is that dad is mom’s third child. is that he can’t adequately function without her. is that he feels lost without her. is that he, helpless as a toddler, has the temper of one too. the joke is that
she packs his lunch every day and always makes dinner for everyone by herself. is that she works the double shift. is that she appears eternally exhausted. is that she does the emotional labor. is that she always takes out his heartburn medicine for him. the joke is that
dad told me to remind my partner to take his medicine. is that dad thinks I should be my partner’s mom, picking up after him and treating him like a child. is that dad thinks it is love and I think it is disrespectful. the joke is that
when I come home, I pick up after my dad. is that I don’t want kids. is that I told my dad I was not going to be my partner’s parent. the joke is that
my dad laughed.
Sarosh is a mechanical engineer & anthropologist, and is particularly interested in the overlap between those subjects. She loves experimenting with her curly hair. She is a reader for the Longleaf Review, Anomaly, and Periwinkle Literary Magazine. Twitter/Instagram: @saroshnandwani
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