A Mother Found in her 30s
How lucky am I that I’ve been chronicling my life now for just over 5 years, so when I want to look back and see how I felt on my 30th birthday, I needn’t look any further than my post “Rhymes with 30” Charlotte’s little grin that is now Josephine’s little grin exactly. I am just so darn lucky.
I remember on my 30th birthday driving with my husband and expressing that I have absolutely no problem with me getting older, I just need time to slow down for my kids.
“We will blink and be 35, just watch.”
Well, we blinked.
This year to honor me entering into mid-30-dom I could think of no better way than running the California International Marathon on a relay team with other moms who have been on this ride along with me. To me this symbolizes the strength, unity, and dedication it has taken to get to this point--not as woman somewhere in her third decade, but a mother found in her 30s.
See, I was never lost, but am being discovered; and here is what is unfolding:
I am now achingly stringent with my personal time.
I know exactly what I want and what I do not want.
Self-care is not a selfish act, but a necessity of motherhood.
It is OK to feel overwhelmed.
Asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness.
My friendships have shifted from leisurely check-ins to my oxygen mask.
I am much too busy to tiptoe to the point.
While this season of life is largely about my children, it doesn’t mean I need to sacrifice my own happiness: mother does not mean martyr.
I have stopped saying “maybe next year” or “when the kids are older” and started doing.
Motherhood, more than anything, has taught me I am capable of hard things with more love than ever believed possible.
Right as I entered my front door after the race I was greeted by all three of my girls and I let them climb one on each leg and another in my arms until my body was consumed by them. One of them scurried all the way up until she could whisper gently in my ear, “Mommy, did you win?”
To which I replied, “Absolutely, I did.”
