Beautifully expressed. Thank you for sharing your experience and your thoughts. I think we mothers all going through this “identity crisis”. I remember having one when Ahelia turned 6 months. I remember the cafe we were at, what Ahelia was wearing and the winter sun on my face when I asked, “who am I?” Later that year, just before Ahelia turned 1, I think I went to an Alison Rice women’s circle and I was chatting to a seasoned mum and I remember she asked me what I do. The lump in my throat came as I said “I’m just a mum”. She looked at me so sweetly and tenderly and said “you’re not JUST a mum, you are everything”. It struck a chord but didn’t fully sink in until later. I’m a chain breaker, a cosmic girl living in a crazy world, trying to be a nation builder - just like you and all the other nation building mamas with us 💪🏾
I feel like I was so certain of who I was before motherhood. But in reality, I attached my identity to my career. Motherhood allowed me to strip bare from all of the labels and titles, which now when I look back feels like nothing (for me personally) but I was so attached. I guess that’s the ego being fed? I say this without meaning to be positive or negative. Just an observation into how I was. I don’t know if I would be in this state of mind if I had not gone through this rite of passage so to speak. I liken the identity crisis to a developmental leap. Actually, it is a developmental leap. It doesn’t stop. The evolution is ongoing and if we allow ourselves to ridge the waves, we can truly appreciate the beauty of our true selves. For some it may be defined by a word or sentence, and for others it may be a feeling or a visual or sound depiction. And at first when we do not know, it’s still trying to crystallise as we get to know our true self.
Beautifully expressed. Thank you for sharing your experience and your thoughts. I think we mothers all going through this “identity crisis”. I remember having one when Ahelia turned 6 months. I remember the cafe we were at, what Ahelia was wearing and the winter sun on my face when I asked, “who am I?” Later that year, just before Ahelia turned 1, I think I went to an Alison Rice women’s circle and I was chatting to a seasoned mum and I remember she asked me what I do. The lump in my throat came as I said “I’m just a mum”. She looked at me so sweetly and tenderly and said “you’re not JUST a mum, you are everything”. It struck a chord but didn’t fully sink in until later. I’m a chain breaker, a cosmic girl living in a crazy world, trying to be a nation builder - just like you and all the other nation building mamas with us 💪🏾
Real time raw thoughts....
I feel like I was so certain of who I was before motherhood. But in reality, I attached my identity to my career. Motherhood allowed me to strip bare from all of the labels and titles, which now when I look back feels like nothing (for me personally) but I was so attached. I guess that’s the ego being fed? I say this without meaning to be positive or negative. Just an observation into how I was. I don’t know if I would be in this state of mind if I had not gone through this rite of passage so to speak. I liken the identity crisis to a developmental leap. Actually, it is a developmental leap. It doesn’t stop. The evolution is ongoing and if we allow ourselves to ridge the waves, we can truly appreciate the beauty of our true selves. For some it may be defined by a word or sentence, and for others it may be a feeling or a visual or sound depiction. And at first when we do not know, it’s still trying to crystallise as we get to know our true self.
Sorry for the typos 🫠 typing too fast. Fingers can’t keep up with the brains
All of this. I think every mother loses herself only to find so much more. Thank you for sharing your words.
Beautifully honest.