As a mom of four little people, whose ages range from three to nine, for Mother's Day I want to remind myself that I am doing okay. In fact, I am doing great.
I want to remind myself that I am not perfect but neither is anyone else and that is okay. Furthermore, I want to reassure myself, that it is perfectly normal to do things the way that feels good to myself and my family versus what I think others may expect me to.
I want to remember that sometimes there are days that I hit it out of the ball park and other days that, well... maybe I swing and miss. Truth be told, those days tend to teach me the most about myself, parenting and kids so I remind myself to remember the lessons from those days.
But, most of all, for Mother's Day, I want to remember the words of the prophet Khalil Gibran which truly resonate with me on my journey as a mother:
“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”
These words remind me that even though all I do may be for the benefit of my kids, that does not mean that my sole job is to be constantly attached to them. That sometimes I also need space so that I can be better for the experiences that we have when we come back together.
I hope that maybe this letter to myself will also resonate with you and that you are gentle with yourself, that you take time to celebrate what a great job you are doing and be confident that if you are parenting from the intuition in your heart and soul that you are going in a great direction. Even when you swing and miss.
Happy Mother's Day!