Thought provoking, Ggal. Nice discussion. I wonder if life is all about keeping in balance whether it was our pioneer foremothers, our mid century moms, ourselves or our 21st century daughters and GD's. Stress comes in many forms and from many sources. Life was very stressful for my mom who started her post WWII family when she was 30, washed diapers in a wringer washing machine and had to heat water before she could begin the laundry. Equally stressful it must have been for her immigrant mother struggling to live a life with a new language and limited family support. Through it all we survive and we are able to make many decisions women at the turn of the last century couldn't.