Reflections

It is officially my third one – Mother’s Day. I am not sure how the last two flew by. There are/were many unknowns, first times and most of all, lots of learning.

I know for a fact that I have grown myself. I guess we tend to think that we are adulting until the moment we realize, we really need to grow up and care for another beautiful life that we brought into this world. 

A few days ago, I met some old friends I hadn’t seen for a while. We caught up as usual with good laughs and delves back into memory lane. 

There were of course the occasional moments when my mommy brain failed me (don’t laugh – I struggled to connect the dots and recall what was being said)  but then again, it was great to be reminded of the nonchalant, carefree days.

In another conversation, motherhood came up. My reply was, ‘yap, it has opened a whole new universe to me!’

In the past three years, I have been confused; I have cried (broken down), I have laughed and I have also found myself needing to bite my teeth and be strong – sometimes all at once. 

I have made amazing new friends and discovered new passions that I never made time to explore – they didn’t factor in my life before motherhood, at least not with the weight they come with these days. 

I read a post last night – each scroll made even more sense to me and gave me deeper meaning of the journey I find myself in, as a new version of myself. I care about things that I never did before, I see the world in a completely different light. I must wonder if this is what our parents went through … of course as a millennial mom, my experiences differ in many ways from those of my parents. But I know dad always used to remind us of a saying in Amharic: ‘eat well before you have children’ (ሳትወልድ ብላ). Literal translation doesn’t sound so good, but what it means is that, once you become a parent, everything that is you, becomes your child – your time, efforts, thoughts… even food 🙂 – so do you before becoming a parent. Here’s another one which I so resonate with: ‘sleep well before becoming a parent’ (ሳትወልድ ተኛ). Oh sleep, sleep, sleep! 

Being a mom has changed me. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that I would transform into the person I have become. I am challenged and inspired to become a better version of myself, every day. I love and cherish this experience and would not change it for anything or anyone. 

Happy Mother’s Day Mamas!