I have long been miffed with the word “just.”

I can trace my visceral distaste back to the last election, when Obama (who I love and voted for- let’s be clear) kept referring to health care reform as “not JUST a woman’s issue”. Every time I heard that minimizing phrase it incensed me. The fact that an issue would impact more than half the population means it is deserving of merit on its own. He should have claimed health care as important BECAUSE it was a women’s issue, not in spite of it.

The war on “just” became personal when I became “just a mom.” I cannot count how many times I have been called that. I wonder if doctors or lawyers or other important workers get called “just” doctors or “just” lawyers. I suspect not.

I hate being cast aside as “just a mom” almost as much as I dislike being told that I “don’t work.” Because, let’s face it, I work all day and all night with little to no breaks. I JUST don’t get paid (in money) … there’s an appropriate use of the word.

Just remember that.