I haven’t lost myself to Motherhood.
I think that’s the common narrative. In the inevitable life change and sacrifice, us moms lose ourselves to our children.
Yes, we lose the freedom of our open schedules and for many of us we never quite get that waistline back we once had. Yes, we lose the ability to buy all our heart’s desires when diapers and bigger grocery bills add up. We lose the ease of accomplishing small tasks when we have little people who need to be buckled, unbuckled, and re-buckled again.
Yes, with those losses, may come with a loss of identity. But what I’ve discovered is that with that loss, a new part of ourselves starts to emerge.
We realize we can’t control everything and learn how to let go. We learn to put others before ourselves. We learn what’s really important and what’s really not. We start shedding the weight of things that once held us back: putting too much stock in other’s opinions, old insecurities and the pointless pursuit of perfection.
Are you wrestling with who you are now? Can I tell you something? It may be a long match. But while you’re in the ring, your true self will begin to reveal herself and one day claim victory.
No, I don’t think we lose ourselves to motherhood. Instead, for those of us who hear her calling, I think it’s where we find who we were always meant to be.
