When I was pregnant with my first child, I was startled by how frequently people would ask me if I was afraid of labour. Not knowing anything at all about labour yet, really (because who does when you haven’t experienced it??), each time I would answer that labour would end, and that the task of raising the tiny human who resulted from said labour seemed much more daunting to me. Interestingly, my labours were both incredibly brilliant (and FAST), and the task of raising said children is far more daunting. And magnificent. And has brought me closer to both divinity and madness then I would ever have thought possible.
So yes, it’s okay to be real. For real.
Truly, truly, You Matter.
Go breathe, Sweet Mama.
Shut off the F$#*ing computer with its Pinterest perfection, and sit in silence if that’s what you need. Dance wildly if that lights you up again. Because we all NEED (in caps!) to recharge our batteries, to let it all go occasionally. We need to stop pretending that we’re going to find Balance (cue sound of angels on high) on a daily basis.
You know when I find Balance? It’s in the most unexpected, unplanned moments. When my kids are arguing with each other and texting me the play by play so my phone is dinging madly and they’ve forgotten that it’s 3 hours earlier for me in California where I am vacationing sans children with my beloved, than it is for them at home. But I’m up now, thank you. It is then that we look out the window of the magical little cottage over the ocean that we’ve rented and there, right below us, is a pod of at least 8 Orca whales playing right in front of the house. I give thanks for the whales, the ocean, and for my kids arguing and waking us in time to witness the whale play. A prayer of thanksgiving from my childhood pops into my head completely unbidden that suits this moment perfectly. THAT’S Balance. The dark and the light, the frustration and the magnificence, and being able to give thanks for it ALL. Because it’s glorious. And it’s ours. Pinterest be damned.
