Single mom, married mom, breastfeeding mom, formula feeding mom, stay-at-home mom, working mom, mom of one, mom of multiples…
There is one common thread all the above share regardless of the title that precedes. We are all a mom, first. Let’s stop this idea that one is better than the other, one holds more weight then another. Get over the idea that another can’t relate to you because of her title preceding the role. Mothering and being a mom is a single thread we all share; our journey in this powerful and beautiful gift we have been given would be that much more enriching and less lonely if we remembered this before anything else. It is a journey we are all traveling alone, yet together. Shall we pass another on our journey what a disservice we are doing to compete, not compliment her for getting this far. What unites us in this role is far greater than what divides us.
When you see a fellow traveler in her mothering, offer her a taste of understanding, fill her cup with wisdom, or simply nod to that mama for making it as far as she has. When we run into each other on the journey, we both have no idea how far we both have come and how far we have to go, no path is the same. There are many trails on the journey of motherhood. We are in the same place at the same time at the moment we meet in our journey. Some of us might choose to journey together going forward, some might continue as we were. The metaphorical path that lie ahead of the other, indeed some have traveled before, but none have traveled her path before that point other than she.
What nuggets of wisdom you may offer may or may not fit her journey ahead, as you did not travel that journey with her up until that point. Along the way, she has encountered other travelers offering up something to guide her, or perhaps she started this journey with a map of her own, seeking to venture this path and confront whatever came her way head on. When you see this traveler, salute her for her courage. When you see a tired traveler, offer her a hug, support, an ear…but I know you’ve been traveling too and are tired so be compassionate with yourself if the most you can do is smile and move on. Please, don’t berate that mother, please don’t take any more out of her energy than she has already lost on her own journey. I found forgiveness for my own mother, once I became a mother. Does that mean we journey together? Perhaps not, but that does mean I hold space in my heart that she walked this journey too and actually gave way for me to journey as well? You bet.
The thread that holds us together is motherhood. We would be wise to remember that, before anything else as we journey alone, together.
