You Got This.

This morning while scrolling through an endless amount of emails, I came across this video and it  made my day. Sometimes all you need is a little reminder saying, "You are not alone." Motherhood is a huge rush of contradicting emotions--of fear & confidence, of frustration, & patience, of exhaustion & thrill, of contentment & longing, of losing yourself & finding yourself...motherhood is full of heartaches & bliss, tears of sadness & tears of joy, it is full of the ordinary, the extraordinary, and the most gallant women on earth.

In today's world where social media rules as king in communication we tend to see only the latter. I often find myself feeling that motherly "guilt" when I am feeling overwhelmed. I wonder, "Am I doing enough?" "Am I doing the right thing?" Sometimes I will scroll through my Instagram feed and see other mothers' posts think, "how does she do it?" "how can she juggle the world with such ease when I'm struggling just putting on a matching pair of socks?" I see women with multiple children and I wonder, "Will I ever feel capable of having another child?" These types of questions weigh heavily on my heart & mind.

 What I often forget is a picture only captures a moment. I forget many of those photos are taken in the midst of chaos, they're moments born under a lucky star, a quick snapshot within the eye of a storm. We all feel flooded, we all feel unsure at times, but we are all doing the best job we can with what we have & what we know. As the great Maya Angelou said, "When you know better, you do better" and I keep that lesson in my repertoire as a constant reminder to live in the present and to let go of the past. I did then what I knew how to do, if I'd have known better, I'd have done better.

The teacher I am subbing for gave birth to her second baby on Friday. She has already taken both children to Costco (the place I dread going even sans kids), is out and about, and living as if the new baby had been here all along. For a brief moment I felt envious. That wasn't the experience I had, although it was the experience I had so anticipated & wished for. And in all honesty if I ever do muster up the guts to have another baby, I'm highly doubtful I will jump back into the swing of things so readily as she has. I feel happy for her, I think it's great she's able to do that, but that's simply not me. I am currently in the process of learning to accept things as they happen to me, rather than having expectations which only seem to disappoint me when they aren't met as planned. Life is all about plan B, am I right? In situations like that of the teacher I spoke of, I must to remind myself, she is a more rare case than normal. I then tell myself, "You are not her.You are you, and you are enough." As women, we sometimes get lost in a world of comparisons. When this happens, recite this affirmation: You are you, you are nobody else. And you just as you are more than enough. And always remember....

You Got This.
xo C.