Someone recently gave me a card that as l read it, brought tears to my eyes.
They wrote, ‘love always carries with it the possibility not only of joy, but also of grief and pain…so long as there are beautiful women like you holding their families together – enfolding them with strength and love, then whatever else, there will be peace and joy in the world’.
Sometimes being a mum can be hard and l am not ashamed to say it. I have felt depleted and heartbroken yet somehow kept going. This is what we as women and mothers do. We do everything we can to hold our families together with our strength and our love, even when there is no certainty.
I have learnt that it’s important to talk openly about the realities of being a mum and for that matter, a woman. The feelings of love, grief and pain are the same, even if the issue for each of us may be different. Sharing the honesty of the good and the not so good times and talking with others helps. For a long time, l struggled to do this. I am a listener but have found the courage to share.
I will always be there for my children in whatever capacity they need me, but l know at times my hands are tied and there is nothing l can do but sit and wait and hope for the best. Sometimes your values can be tested. As children grow older they become independent and have a voice of their own. They choose their life and make their own decisions. You can only hope that what you instill in them when they are younger, gives them a good base to take off from.
What is strength? Is it what we are perceived to be when we show resilience through life’s adversity? I like to think so. Just like the beauty of the lotus flower, grown in muddy water, rising to achieve enlightenment. Developing resilience through life’s adversity shapes who we become and what we choose from that moment on I choose to love for the joy and…
…remember to have a laugh along the way.
Jo
