As I welcome a new year, welcome a new path, welcome myself into this new season of life…I feel different. Not new. Actually, more like my old self. Only better. And more whole.
Becoming a mother was a hugely transformative experience for me. One that wasn’t easy, but was oh-so-worth-it. From pregnancy (which I loved, I know weird right?), to birthing my babies (also loved, I know…weird), to becoming a mother to my son, and now a year and a half ago, to my daughter, I am no longer the person I was. I’m better. A better version of myself. A version of myself that I have never liked more. I love who I am right now. I love the confidence birth provided me. I love the growth motherhood has brought me. And I love that my days are filled with joyful chaos, laughter, & love. And even though motherhood has been the hardest job I have every had, I am honored and humbled by the sacred title. As I bring in the new year, and I reflect back on where I have been, to where I am now, it feels like a lifetime and yesterday all at once.
When I first became a mother I didn’t know who I was anymore. I didn’t feel like myself. My identity was no longer only mine. And I didn’t know who I was in this foreign role. I felt lost and confused, happy and so much love all at the same time. It was hard, different, and all consuming. It takes awhile to find your stride after becoming a whole new person. It’s not something that happens overnight, or even six months in. It takes time, and reflection, and growth. I had to learn to give myself patience and grace. To find strength in the hard moments of motherhood, to allow myself to mourn the life I had before children, to redefine the woman I now was. I was someone’s mother, yes. But I was still a woman with goals and dreams outside of motherhood too.
So here I am. This is me. Right now. I am a mother to my two sweet kiddos, a wife to my amazing husband, a friend to my sisterhood, a daughter to the incredible parents who love and support me, a woman who is right where I am supposed to be, a production manager to my kick ass coworkers, a theater lover because it runs through my blood, and a postpartum doula - something that has been deep in my heart for awhile now. I am all of those things and more. I am full and whole and excited to begin a new season of life.
I am ready to do something I love and am passionate about. I am ready to support and guide other women. Empower them and lift them up. While they do the same for me…unknowingly.
Welcome to you. To where you are in this moment. To new beginnings, new chapters, new seasons. To love, empathy, and compassion for yourself and others. Welcome to The Sisterhood.
