Honoring Motherhood: Celebrating the Strengths and Challenges of Being a Mom

This year, I othcelebrate my 5th Mother’s Day. I can’t help but reflect on how drastically my life has changed since the birth of my first daughter in 2019. 

Being a mom is so much a part of who I am, I often find that it’s difficult to remember who I was before. Who is that person? Does she even exist? What did she like? What did she do for fun? How did she fill her days? 

I mourned her for a long time. Nobody prepares you for the grief that accompanies motherhood. Nobody tells you how much you will miss the ease of your life before, and how difficult it would be to prioritize taking time for yourself. 

A drastic shift happened for me when I was able to accept that I was no longer her, but a different version of her. And made it a point to seek to understand her, nurture her, and give her what she needed to persevere. It is an ongoing journey and I am still learning everyday. When I am able to pause, and meet my own needs, I know that my children benefit tremendously. 

Part of that is paying attention to how much I have grown as a mom, and to purposely think about my “wins” albeit small. It’s something that I speak with clients about quite often during our counseling sessions; the idea that we are so wired to focus on how we fell short that day, as opposed to what we did well. 

If we stop and take inventory, we are doing an amazing job. But if we focus on how we messed up, we end up coming up with false narratives around our enough-ness as moms. We need to pause to acknowledge what we are doing well, and lovingly and graciously acknowledge what can shift if we are needing to improve any aspects of our parenting. 

Any mom reading this knows the challenges that come with motherhood. It is all consuming. The mental load is real, the constant demands are real, the compassion fatigue is real. And yet, there will be a day when our children no longer vie for our attention, no longer pull at our dresses to show us their drawings, no longer beg us for one more story at bedtime. 

On my most challenging days, I try to remind myself of this. 

So this Mothers Day, I invite all mothers who are reading this to focus on their strengths, and to take a few moments to take inventory of their “wins”. Below you will find some questions you can use for your own reflection, you can journal your responses, or answer them as you read them. Either way, I hope it helps you refocus on the strengths you possess, and the amazing mother that you are.

• The most rewarding part about being a mother is ….

• Something my child or children have taught me is …..

• The qualities I appreciate the most about myself as a mother are….

• I am most proud of myself as a mother because….

• A challenge(s) I overcame in motherhood…..

• I persevered in motherhood by….

• Something I don’t acknowledge that I do really well is…..

If you are a mother who needs some additional support with navigating any aspect of your motherhood, I am here.

I am a certified perinatal mental health counselor who specializes in working with pregnant moms, postpartum moms, and moms during the entire journey of parenthood. I offer counseling at our beautiful office in Plantation, Florida as well as online through our secure telehealth platform.

Contact me today for your complimentary consultation at 954-391-5305 to discuss how I can help. For more information about my counseling services, click here. 

Happy Mothers Day!