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I feel you, Mom – I know there is more to you than the eternal exhaustion, school runs, cooking all those nutritious meals just to hear the complaining, juggling full-time work, attending the after school activities, arranging playdates, watching sports, drama, school plays, listening to those delightful instrument practices or the loud ‘music’ coming from the latest devices, and the cleaning... oh the never-ending cleaning.
Under those weekend sweatpants, I know there is a living, breathing human, desperate to get out and just spend ten minutes of peace alone, trying to remember who you were before the children, husband and work stripped the dreams away. Before the mortgage and the two cars, before the pets who need as much attention as your husband, before the credit card debt, and before you became available 24 hours a day to that small gadget called a phone.
I know you feel her deep within as well, and now and then, you almost catch a glimpse of her again before reality comes crashing back down on you. Maybe it was a couple of years ago when you spent an entire weekend away with just the girls, or that date night six months ago when hubby surprised you with a night out and even arranged the babysitters. Or maybe it was when you last picked up a novel and had enough time to get lost in its pages, or you picked up a pen and felt such a blessed release as it raced across the pages like it had a life of its own. You haven’t felt like that for years, but now and again, you catch a glimpse of that woman once more.
The woman of years ago, without all the responsibilities, the woman who still had dreams and plans for her life, the woman who had the world at her feet, and believed she could have it all as all the movies say; naivety is what that was. That’s not the woman who stands in front of the mirror now feeling like a part of her has faded, or the woman who is hiding the pieces of her that used to be so important, hoping her time will come one day or the woman who has lost her sparkle in the drudgery of life.
The above describes me as well as you, but I have decided to do something about it and want to bring you along with me; let’s find ourselves together! Let’s explore those hidden passions, rediscover our love of words or dancing or fashion again. Let’s find out what we’re good at, and offer to help others with our gifts and talents; let’s make new friends, bringing that sparkle back again. Let’s show our children we are more than just ‘Mom’ and remind our husbands why they fell in love with us... let’s remember our dreams and plans from our youth, but with a little more life lived behind them now. Maybe you have changed so much that they mean nothing now, but dust them off and remember anyway, and then let’s make new ones, together!
Let’s learn how to make goals, follow through on them, and hold each other accountable to them – and not allow those excuses of ‘being too busy’ to stop us! Let’s learn how to let go of the societal expectations, the pretend perfection we see on social media, and the ‘hot mess’ mantra we have been clinging to. Let’s band together as a group of friends and take the world by storm; let’s show our daughters nothing needs to hold them back and let’s give our own moms something to be proud of. Let’s leave our men shouting from the sidelines, cheering us on, and ensure our sons know how to encourage and bring the best out of their wives right from the start.
Let’s change our world, one tiny step at a time – are you with me?
Join me as I rediscover my love of words through exploring interests once lost and as I learn who I am now – a combination of who I was and who I want to be, mixed in with the current me. Discuss with me how to make those goals as a busy working Mom, and then how to follow through; hold me accountable to these goals, one step at a time, and don’t let me pretend I can’t do it. And I will cheer you along as well, reminding you what it feels like to dream again and hold you accountable to your own goals and plans.
I say it’s never too late, and we’re never too old to catch that silver lining once more and reclaim our lost dreams. It’s OUR time, ladies, let’s GO.
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