Photo: Rory Hamilton
The act of becoming a mother means that some invisible hand of life-emotions reaches down into the very pit of your heart and takes a wrench hold.
You will never be the same.
You have joined the universal community of motherhood and. there. is. no. going. back.
If one is alive, human and fully emotionally formed, there is a deep level of compassion that is permanently implanted in you that elicits tears of compassion at the thought of a child being hurt, another mother losing her babe, another's joyous occasion of giving birth to life just as you have, etc.
You're stuck.
You will be this way forever.
It is a good thing.
I believe this is why women are less prone to violence than men. We have literally given Life. And, it is our innate beings to preserve Life and to care for and nurture it. I love being a woman and a mother.
It is a true gift to be one and to have inside of me this well-spring of emotions shared by mothers around the world. Early into my own motherhood journey, I recall being in awe upon arriving at this shared destination. I can also remember first feeling this fullness of compassion and magical connection to all mothers everywhere. I knew that I had arrived and tapped into something deep, bonding and sacred and that is was a blessed gift not to hold lightly but to honor and to cherish.
Here's to the beauty, the fullness, the decadent brimming heart richness, the lush yummy-ness of Motherhood. And to All Mothers Everywhere....
"I love being a woman and a mother." Yes. Thank you for this post, Leisa.
Posted by: Rebecca at Toothwhale | November 09, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Leisa, This is a beautiful piece! Thank you for continuing to reach within and without.
Posted by: Dawn Kirk | November 10, 2009 at 09:06 AM
Rebecca, I am glad you join me in the celebration. Our culture, IMO, often discourages celebration of the stages of grown-up womanhood, (mid-life, and this gift of motherhood).
Posted by: Leisa Hammett | November 10, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Dawn, as someone who deals with the "within" this is a high compliment. Thank you. I'm still like "oh, isn't it cool" where we met in our lives and where we are now?!"
Posted by: Leisa Hammett | November 10, 2009 at 10:14 AM