Dear Sweet Mama Bear

Oh, Mama Bear,

I totally see you and know how hard it is raising those beautiful souls with sweet spirits and boundless energy.

Especially you with small children under feet.

The little ones who need you every second of the day with bright eyed excitement, bottomless stomachs, and an endless supply of “mama” on the tongue. The little people who run around your legs while you make dinner or use your skirt as a hideout while at the grocery store. The little love bugs who request snuggles when they skin their knee, have a nightmare or need reassurance when they are feeling wobbly. The “mini me” who plays dress up, gets sassy and demands independence at seemingly the most inappropriate time.

I see you. The mama who has no space and time to think clearly, sleep deeply, or process the day.

The mama who once had divergent dreams and aspirations that seem unattainable now.

The woman with an equally magnetic desire to be alone, and to also be within arms reach of your children always.  

The superwoman who provides so fully for her children by day, and numbs her heart by night because she doesn’t feel the wholeness within, and feels guilty for wanting more.

Oh, sweet love, I have a special place for you, mama. The one that can’t imagine life without wine to divide the hustle of the day with the solitude of night.

The mama who longs to be the perfect humans these precious angels think we are.

Dear sweet Mama Bear, I have been where you are.

Then one day I whispered, “I choose me”. I set aside the wine, my constant companion, to sit in the solace of the night, the hours in which my babies slumber, and I wept into my pillow.

At first with sadness and loneliness.

Then I wept for the name calling, breakups, failures, heartaches, backaches, and loneliness my babies will someday endure.

Then my tears shed for the underserved, the disenfranchised, the homeless, loveless, and isolated.

Then the tears became more cleansing and pure. I wept with compassion and love for myself, my story, and others.

We are all so deeply and divinely connected. If we just reach out, open our eyes, and hearts we can feel the pulse of another.

Anyway mama beauties. I see you. I know you. I know your challenges. I know your struggles. I know your worth. I love you.