Motherhood: Don’t Walk Alone

Motherhood is a beautiful journey filled with joy, laced with challenges and encompassed by incredible love.   It’s the hardest thing I’ve done but the most rewarding.  Motherhood shouldn’t be a solo journey but one filled with connections, support and encouragement. 

I feel blessed to have a close network of Mothers around me.  I’ve been the recipient of encouragement, love, practical support and advice from these beautiful women in my life.  In addition to this support, there are many mothers documenting their Motherhood journey online.  I never feel like I’m walking alone. 

I am pictured here with an online Mother I had the opportunity to meet in real life. SquiggleMum (otherwise known as Cath) is one of the countless bloggers who is there to share the Motherhood journey. 

Since I started this blog, I’ve had many comments suggesting that I must be an amazing Mum.  This made me feel extremely uncomfortable.  The last thing I want to do is set myself up as a perfect Mother!  It is true I am passionate about mothering, I love my children and I try to be a fantastic Mother.  However, in reality, I make tons of mistakes, I get angry and cranky sometimes and things are not always happy and fun. 

About the time I was having these image struggles, I read SquiggleMum’s post Unbloggy Bits.  I love this quote: “When you are reading someone’s blog, please remember that you are only seeing a snippet of their life.  I mostly choose to share my good snippets.  I like to be positive, celebrate motherhood and share “ideas and inspiration” for other mums.  I hope that doesn’t mean people read my blog and assume my life is a happy carnival of craft activities, playschool songs, bible stories and outdoor excursions.”  – SquiggleMum (2009).

The post reflected exactly how I was feeling.  While my blog reflects Motherhood as a fun experiece (and it is) there are many parts of my day I struggle with.  This quote says it all, “Welcome to Motherhood – an adventure which can be at times overwhelming, exciting, challenging and rewarding – somtiems all on the same day!” – What I Wish I Knew Before I Became a Mother (2009:2).

In summary, I want to bring two points out of this post.  Firstly, it is my desire to encourage Mothers on their journey, not to set myself up as a perfect Mother.  Lastly, Motherhood is a journey we all walk together.   Don’t do it alone.