Mama, we see you

When we talk about parenthood, our minds often imagine a mother with a newborn. We may imagine the sleepless nights, struggling to comfort this new baby into this world. Stressing out about formula or breastmilk, co sleeping or sleep training, cloth or pampers. But what we need to remember is that parenthood is from birth until death and a mother needs support throughout.

One moment you go from being constantly needed, and in the blink of an eye the years pass and they act like they don't need you at all. You go from a time of constantly kissing boo boos to praying that they come to you for support instead of pushing you away. 

We often forget that this love and concern for our child continues into their dating lives, hoping that they can avoid the painful rejection that maybe we felt at their age. Perhaps it carries over into dropping them off at college and feeling the fears of being far away, unable to keep them safe from real world threats. It doesn’t stop, even when they are adults, possibly marrying and beginning their own families.

We bite our tongues when we feel the lack of control we have over their job losses, miscarriages, divorces, financial struggles, mental health and even substance abuse issues. We know that we have no control. 

We no longer hold them, rock them, make decisions for them. We work hard to honor their autonomous selves while holding back our tears and choking on fear because this is parenthood, this is unconditional love, this is trusting that we have built a safe place for them to come back to when they need to and that we will be there for them for the entirety. 

Mamas of kids of every age, we see you, we support you, and we honor YOU.