Last night my son lost his white phone in the yard covered with three inches of snow.
He realized it as we trekked to the middle school for a concert that my other son’s 4th grade class was doing. I sat in the car trying to mull over what to do – risk going back on snowy slippery roads or hoping we’d find it in an hour. We stayed.
The inches of snow made that phone impossible to find when we returned.
But let me tell you – I tried.
I was the mom outside with a rusty green metal rake raking her snow covered yard. I was the mom kicking every inch of snow with my feet. I was the mom out there for twenty minutes more while everyone else went inside to warm up.
That’s just what we do as moms.
We show up.
We put ourselves out there.
We do crazy things like attempting to find white Samsung phones in thick wet last day of November snow.
We make countdown chains and sprinkle glitter and attempt to bake cookies thinking this year we’ll stay happy throughout the process and when the flour gets everywhere we lose it just a bit and wish for the clean kitchen.
We fold shirts knowing that they will be pulled from the drawers, thrown on the ground and we’ll hear words of I have nothing to wear.
We stop our kids from fighting over the silliest things that drive us crazy.
The other day, while the kids were in school, I climbed a tree to put white twinkling lights in it. I did it for them. The other week I drove my six year old to Children’s Hospital Minnesota for lab work. I did it for him. The other night I stayed awake with my eight year old when he had a bad dream. I did it because I love him.
Chances are you have these little things that you do too.
Chances are you could write your own list of all these simple things that got lost in the fabric of the busy that you do everyday for your family. And you do it without looking for gold stars or that’s awesome or any of it. Chances are most of it simply fades into the timeline of your life.
Chances are you are probably sitting in a house thinking that you haven’t done enough. Or that you’re messing up your kids. Or you’re worrying that you should have done that. Or you’re kicking yourself for responding too short. Or you’re just feeling overwhelmed. Or stuck. Or like you’re failing.
But, chances are that you, just like me have done some pretty profound motherhood things.
Ordinary things.
And sometimes those ordinary things take so much work. They take us counting to ten one hundred times. They take us trying to not get super frustrated over geography projects that just feel like a waste of time and we just want them to be done. They take us picking up toys again and again and again. They are times of us getting so frustrated about picking up toys that we throw them all in a bag to throw away and then find ourselves picking out favorites because we love them.
Chances are you have a whole bunch of ordinary things that add up to life things that you could share.
If only you wouldn’t dismiss them. If only you wouldn’t attach “just” to them. If only you wouldn’t think that it’s no big deal. If only you would let the tears fall when they need to. If only you would start to see again just how beautiful and extraordinary and wonderful a person that you are. In the midst of so often the most messy and un-beautiful life there can be.
Because life – life has a tendency to throw us curve balls. It can suck the wind from us and make us weep at night. It can makes us feel like we’ll never measure up. It just can hide us from seeing how powerful and brave it is when we do those simple things.
Like lights.
Like snowmen made mid-day just because.
Like notes in the lunch boxes. Sitting in the school pick up line. Making a favorite dinner. Drying the winter gear when they come in. Again and again. Rolling snowballs. Laughing when they laugh. Rocking babies. Taking temperatures. Reading books and skipping parts. Teaching how to put snow pants over boots. Brushing hair. Wiping tables. Going to bed exhausted. Waking tired. Loving when we don’t even know how.
We’re all flawed. I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect and our kids aren’t perfect.
But we’re all trying. Giving. Loving.
So tonight, today or whenever you’re reading this – you deserve to see you the way the rest of us see you.
As an extraordinary person.
A mom that shows up.
Day after day. Night after night. Good day after good day. Hard day after hard day. Ordinary day, normal day, just a day. Loving your kids.
That, my friends, is what matters.
So before you close this browser and move on with your life I want you to take a breath, to look at the hands in front of you and when you see them to be overwhelmed with wonder for all that you do. Those hands love. They button coats. They give. They wipe away tears. They write notes. They type responses. They hold hands in them until those hands grow. They mother.
Carry on. You are brave even when you feel small.
Thank you for showing up.
~Rachel
ps. We never did find the phone. But, I showed up. And that’s what mattered. If you’d love to join a great community of brave and real moms that’s below. Also grab my new book The Brave Art of Motherhood and learn to celebrate all the places you show up for your family. You can get it on Amazon <-link or in Bookstores near you. <3
73 comments
Why is it so hard to remember our own mothers; gratitude when you realize with kids of your own, that she’s lived through that too, mostly unrecognized and unr hanker. A card and flowers on Mother’s Day enough for all this?
💗
Thanks so much sometimes we just need to hear this .
I try so hard to be the best mom every day for all four of my blessings , I fall short a lot more then I ever want too . My babies always come first when they do come to me and tell me they love me I get the best mom Award every time. I wouldn’t change my life for nothing everything I have had to sacrifice and everything I’ve had to learn and love and grow with them I would do it all over again.
Sometimes I don’t want to show up. Sometimes I’d rather sit on the couch eating Lucky Charms for dinner instead of worrying about whether they’re eating too many carbs and not enough protein as I put together another dinner on the fly.
Sometimes I don’t want to show up when they’re dad — the person I call “Father of the Year” — calls at 6:30 on a Sunday night, the first time in three weeks, because he thought about needing to call his kids near the end of his day off. He’s not the one that’s home trying to get the kids to finish their homework, shower, practice their music, and be in bed at a decent hour.
Sometimes I don’t want to show up when I think that postpartum depression still can be around when the kids are 14 and 15 years old, and I’m exhausted, and fat, and broke, and trying to manage ev-er-y-thing, and not wanting to come up with yet another answer for “Mom I have a question.”
Sometimes I don’t want to show up in front of the mirror when I think that I did not get out of bed when my daughter threw up the other night; just asking her if she’s OK as she tells me she did it in the sink instead of the toilet. Yep. That was waiting for me in the morning. Oh … she had swallowed gum like I’ve told her not to. I cleaned it up with no complaints, except at myself for not getting up.
And sometimes I don’t want to show up at their concert when I know that at the end I’ll have red, puffy eyes because I’ll be that mother who embarrassed herself in front of others by getting teary-eyed at their performance. But I WILL show up because I earned those tears, every single one of them. And they’re magically delicious!
Wow! I never thought about it this way. I have four beautiful and amazing children that range from 7 to 17 (well, he will be 18 in just 5 more days). Before having kids I always helped with nieces and nephews (having 6 siblings I have a few). I have felt on the occasion of being overwhelmed and felt like I was messing my kids up and at times sure I was the worst mom ever. Thank you for this because I really needed to read it.
Inspiration in a lost iphone — that is admirable as hell. I’m sorry about the phone but I’m so glad you wrote this and shared it. It made my whole day and I’m sharing as well.
This is EXACTLY what I needed to read today. Thank you for writing it!
SO “on point”! Although my girls are older now, I was a single mom for almost 8 years and I’ve been there…struggling some days just to put one foot in front of the other. And the whole “it’s not fair that I am doing it all” thing. But speaking from the other side of motherhood (my oldest recently married and will receive her Master’s in Ed. Counseling in May, 2016, and my youngest will receive her Bachelor’s in Ele. Ed. in May also), I can tell you they DO notice that you show up! My girls have begun to share things with me that let me know how much they appreciated me being there, even though they may not have voiced it at the time. Keep showing up, Mom! 🙂
The most important thing you can give to a child is to show up. It is easy to forget, I did. Thanks to my three lovely children.
Am I the only one wondering why no one else, including the child who lost it, wasn’t outside helping look for the phone?
He was out there for almost 45 minutes with me. I sent him in after it got too cold.
And, Tina, I believe that question was answered in the line, “I was the mom out there for twenty minutes longer while everyone else went in to warm up.” I chose to stay out. They were all there.
It’s bothering me, but I have to ask: Did anyone try calling to phone?
The phone wasn’t hooked up to the phone service – he used it like an iPod. We tried every type of alert possible, let me tell you. When I found it it was under the drift by the driveway under a foot of snow.
I assumed others had been helping at first & it was too cold for them to stay. Isn’t this article about respecting other Moms that are showing up, perhaps imperfectly, perhaps to their own weariness? More respect please. This was a beautiful on point article. The more respect we give to each other, the better off we all are. Build each other up. Thank you Rachel, for this beautiful, building, supportive writing.
Yes, I think you are.
And these are the moms that make you feel you are failing… it was a beautifully written inspiration and there you are….to make it negative.
Got here from a friend’s share. This post was beautiful and affirming, Rachel. Just what I needed to read today.
So glad you are here, Kathryn. And thank you for your kind words.
This made me cry. Thank you for writing it. I often feel like I don’t do enough etc etc, and I often feel that what I do do is over looked and unappreciated. It’s hard sometimes when you get caught in negative thoughts and feelings
But I know I am very loved and appreciated. My fiance tells me sometimes he doesn’t know what he’d do without me, lol.
Honestly, the times kids remember most are the times we are there. They don’t remember the cookies they made, or what the snowman looked like – they remember that we were there to do it with them. Great reminders! Thanks!
Wow – literally have tears in my eyes reading this. I never knew all the things I could do while being exhausted, until I became a mother. That’s when I realized exhausted was no longer an option. I wake almost every morning with the best intentions of being that ‘amazing’ mom I want so badly to be. Yet most nights I go to bed exhausted, feeling like I failed at something. Right there and then I vow to do better tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be more patient. Tomorrow I will pay better attention. Tomorrow I will get the kids to bed on time. Tomorrow I will not worry about tomorrow. That is where I often live. Tomorrow. Thank you for reminding me that showing up and doing your best can be enough.
I love your words. thank you for writing this. It really moved me.
I showed up for 5 daughters over 35 years and 2 of them, age 31 and 35, choose to focus on times they were unhappy and didn’t think I was fair to them. Neither of them are parents so they can’t possibly understand how difficult it is to raise children, esp in an unhappy marriage, but they harshly judge me anyway. I can’t say it doesn’t hurt me to my core but at least the other three, age 33, 27, and 16, choose to remember all the loving things I’ve done over the years. I even juggled college while I raised 4 of them during elementary school, so I could become an RN and leave my Ex, giving us a more peaceful home. Sometimes, showing up isn’t enough…especially if your children have unrealistic expectations and have unforgiving hearts.
Theresa, I know how you feel. I left an abusive (emot)ionally and verbally) husband and his stick your nose in everything mother-in- law, after 25 yrs of marriage. I tried everything to save my marriage, we went to marriage counseling 3 times, with 3 different counseling. I did everything around the house and yard. I worked full time as an RN. My 2 boys were my life. I scheduled things to do on my days off. My ex was obsessed with his true love. martial arts. WE as a family did spend weekends together. Doing things my ex wanted to do. I left my ex when he had me cornered in the bathroom screaming and calling me every name you could think of, I left the house, my boys were safe with him. I should have had him arrested that night, but I didn’t want to in front of my boys. I went back early the next day to get the boys, aged 9 and 13. Their father had talked them into staying with him! He was their friend! I was their mother and the one who made them follow rules, do their homework etc. After I left, my boys would almost flunk out of school and not graduate. I talked with their father and he stated their working on their grades. After much todo they did graduat. My oldest is very intelligent, IQ in the 130’s. He is now 24 and working part time. His brother is in college, both have not talked to me for years, won’t give me their new cell numbers. I was a horrible mother and they never had any fun with me. I don’t know how I go on without them, but I do! I pray that they come back to me soon. I’ll pray for you too/ We mothers do our best, but sometimes the children don’t think it’s enough. When they are parents maybe they will figure it out. GOD bless! We did our best.
Being a full time working mom, my greatest joy is to be with my 2 daughters (ages 10 and 7). Many many times I have beaten myself up over not being able to be a stay at home mom. My husband and I have essentially reversed roles. I am the breadwinner in our home. It kills me at times. I can’t show up at the school when they have an event. I can’t show up when I’m on call at the hospital and they want me to go ice skating with them. I can’t show up a lot of times for a lot of things. But when I do show up, I am 100% present. When they ask me 15 questions, I answer 15 questions. If I don’t know the answer, we Google it together. I snuggle with them at night and give them each time to ask/talk about anything they want. I am present.
I needed this article like many other mom’s out there. Everyday I try harder to be better than the day before. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But I always try.
This was meant for me tonight. I am feeling guilty for being upset at my now 4 year old. His birthday is today. Ive spent every night this week painting a new bed for him, planning a birthday party, cleaning the house for company. We set his new bed up tonight and he seemed uninterested and asked if that was his big surprise with a tone of disappointment. Needless to say he is lying in bed with me as we speak. im exhausted mentally and physically but this really made me feel better. Hes only 4 and he will love it someday and if i had it to do over, i still wouldve been up til 2 with a paint brush and my old sweats.
This resonates with me. I do lots of things for my kids – birthday parties are certainly high up on the list – as well as trying to make Christmas magical and keep the house clean and have the friends in and get the “just right” toy, experience, outfit, furniture, bedding and so on. The thing is, they don’t really care about any of that (well, maybe having the friends in). If you do too much as I Mom (like I do) and you don’t get the appreciation you think you deserve, it can be heartbreaking. BUT! They notice when you are rested and can laugh easily or hum the song on the radio or go with the flow of day that doesn’t go just right. They notice the tone of your voice and whether it has an angry edge, or a sighing sadness and disappointment in it and here’s the thing – they feel responsible. They may not understand all you did or why you did it – they may not appreciate something as much as you (or at all) – but they can sure feel my resentment towards them if all I do is give and give and give, and not feel like I’m getting anything back. I’m learning (slowly) that the more I just show up and the less I try to please them (and please myself) with the external things, the happier we all are. I’m less tired. I’m more happy with myself, because I am doing things to please myself. I’m more present. They notice. And it’s better giving up control, I’ve found.
Maybe someone already said this…when we lose a phone, we try calling it…sometimes over and over…the ringing, or the light lighting up, or the buzzing can get someone’s attention and we find it. : -)
tip for future phone losses.
God bless Moms!
I so needed this today! Your words and beautiful. Thank you for sharing them with all of us!
[…] it’s the little things, the things that we don’t think make a difference. It’s A Mom That Shows Up that is important. It’s the time spent doing homework with my son. It’s the video […]
Thank you!! XO
No truer words were ever spoken. Though my oldest daughter is 29 and engaged to be married next year, my middle child is 26 and married with two of her own children (one a child with special needs) and three step-children, and my son is 21 and in his final year of college, I drop everything when they need me to help with something. It’s just what you do. I would move heaven and earth to make sure they are happy. And because it’s an unconditional love, I will continue to do it. Thank you for your honest appreciation of what most of us mothers feel.
Oh I’m not just teary-eyed …..I’m sobbing! I find it so interesting that so many moms, in different stages of life, needed to hear these words tonight. (Although I didn’t know I needed to hear them.) My son is 28, living in a big city over 3 hours away. He is totally self sufficient and I always think he doesn’t need me anymore, until I get a phone call about something exciting that he is proud to tell me. I hang on every word. My daughter is 27, lives over an hour away and depends on me emotionally. Her life is difficult and it’s so hard to let her be, but she is doing it on her own. My favorite times are when she comes to spend the night and we lay in my bed together, eating popcorn and watching a movie. She lets me hold her in my arms and stroke her hair. My devoted husband, who I’ve probably neglected horribly these last 28 years, doesn’t want me to “take care” of him, but he dotes on me and makes sure I know I am loved everyday. I am lucky that way. With no grandchildren anywhere on the near horizon, I am lucky enough to have two little boys, 4 and 5, that I have been babysitting since they were infants. I could not love them anymore if they were my own grandbabies. They give me so much joy. Their parents know how much they mean to me and include me in their family activities. I am truly blessed with so much love in my life, I’m not sure why this article affected me so deeply, but thank you, Rachel, for providing strength in the solidarity of moms who show up. I never had to look for a lost phone in the snow, but I did drive by the location where my son, on the eve of his 11th birthday, spent the night buried in a snow bank, to earn his “something” below zero boy scout badge. All I could see was a bunch of lumps covered in snow. While I wanted more than anything to scoop him up and bring him home, I kept on driving and I was very proud.
So so true. I have been there, done that, and I know my two daughters are currently doing the same with their two children and have lost several phones. Their children mean the world to them and they would hold their hands all the time.
Is this my dance mom friend Rachel? A friend of mine shared this post with me and I recognized you! I didn’t realize you had a blog. What a great discovery! We have since moved to Idaho and our kids are growing up and leaving home! Harriet will be the only child home next year. I guess your kids have grown too — I hope all is well. Sending love your way. Karen Parkinson 🙂
Yes!!! No way!! This is the best day ever!!!! Will you email me at rachelfindingjoy@gmail.com ? I am so excited to hear from you.
Oh my that photo of all those tangled lights would so make a cute christmas card!
I’m sitting here crying on my couch because that was exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you.
((hugs)) You are welcome, Katie. Thank you for showing up.
Rachel
Please do all parents a favor and replace the words mom and mother with “parent”. Moms are the best and the do so much for kids. But lets not forget fathers. There are a lot of great fathers out there that do the exact same things and care just as much for their children. Parenting is not a one person job.
I don’t ever mean to intentionally exclude dads – I just write from the posture of being a mom. There are many many great sites dedicated to dads – especially Life of Dad (started by a friend of mine). I think dads are awesome and do amazing things. I don’t ever want to assume what it would be like to be a dad and to make global assumptions with regards to that as well.
With joy.
Rachel
My daughter dropped her bottle of life giving insulin on our 5 acres of cleared property 2 years ago. And she wasn’t sure if she dropped it in the yard or on the 4 mile bike ride she’s just taken.
THIS MAMA walked the whole thing, forward down one side and back down the other. We searched and searched and all the while, I cried out to God aloud.
Our country neighbor saw us and he joined in the hunt. He kept us company, kept us laughing, and kept his eagle eyes searching for that precious tiny bottle that my girls life depends on.
My son was sent home to search the yard thoroughly. And he found it.
And you never saw such a praise party in the smack dab middle of a country road as we had that day.
Loved this post. I show up every day. And I overlook it. Thank you.
Thank you, Rachel. Your posts are beautifully written, and confirm for me that I’m not alone–that I’m not a failure as a mom for feeling overwhelmed and still not getting it all done.
Sometimes I miss the me I used to be, and I don’t know how to find her again. I used to be fun-loving, and have interesting things to talk about. I used to smile a lot more and stress a lot less. I’d like my kids to know that person. There must be a way that I can be mom and still be me. Maybe other moms out there feel the same, and maybe in 2016 we can figure out how.
[…] We’re all flawed. I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect and our kids aren’t perfect. I always feel the mommy guilt and this was a good […]
Thank you for your post! This touched my soul in such a way I cannot begin to put into words. I love showing up- I love being there for my little ones- but sometimes it is exhausting & overwhelming. Mom guilt is horrible- “I shouldn’t have yelled about that” “I should have been more patient” “I should have been there with them instead of working” – the list is endless! Articles like this are what we as moms need to remember- we need to support each other- build each other up- be there for each other! Thank you for reminding us all that showing up is always what is most important!! Happy Holidays!!
I myself am sitting in an airport waiting for my flight home after watching my daughter (who goes to school 15 hours from home) participate in the NCAA volleyball tournament. Quite possibly a once in a lifetime. Feeling guilty for going against my husband’s wishes and leaving two ( very capable and supporting) children at home. Thank you for this today. It was so important to her and I am thankful to not have missed it for her. And I too have spent days looking for a kid’s phone that fell off his truck. Lol. It is all in the little ways of a mother’s love.
Thank you!
You have no idea how much i needed to read this! Thank you!
While you have written a great expose on motherhood (been there, done that!!) to me it was obvious how you could find a white phone in the snow (no, not here on the south east coast of Australia!!): all you needed to do was use your’s or someone else’s phone to ring the lost phone: when you heard it ringing, voila!!
His phone wasn’t hooked up to the cell service – he just used it as an iPod type device. No way to call it. 🙂
Love this !
This is just what I needed to read after breaking down this morning feeling like a total failure. I show up, even if nothing else goes right.
Crazy story, I was lost my white samsung on a ski slope. My 11 yr old son went down the hill after me, falling everywhere he thought I fell 😂, and actually found my phone!! It had scrapes from skis on the case, but incredibly, it still worked.
I just really needed this. Thank you.
I came across your article from a post on Facebook. Words fail to express how much my heart needed to feel your words. I then read your article ‘I was going to skip Christmas this year’ and cried as I read the words because I’m there literally and physically in an impossible suitation that I cannot yet change and am struggling to get through a day much less Christmas. Thank you for your most honest and heartfelt words, for how they were intended and how deeply they healed.
Hey Rachel 🙋!
I know this post is from over a year ago, but a friend of mine shared it on Facebook, and I’m like… Hey! I know her! Just wanted to say hello and tell you how much I enjoyed this post. I will have to read a few more.
Take care,
Diana
Rachel,
What a great article I needed to read it. Yes, I too am a mom that showed up for 3 children now grownup. Ages 33-37-40. And now I am being the mom who showed up because her 33 year old son isn’t or doesn’t want to raise his daughter. I am almost 59 and raising a 5 year old and let me tell you some days I am just so tired. She pays me back with kisses and hugs and she calls me mom, nana, mother (when she’s mad) and I love it. Gone are my retirement days, I just hope that my husband (62 years) and I get her thru high school. We have a security monkey she has had since birth and I cannot tell you how many times that darn thing has went missing. But I will be my imperfect self and hopefully I will raise her better than her father.
I needed this today! I was already feeling emotional and then I read this and bawled like a baby. My son is now 14 and I share custody with his dad. My whole family lives out of state. My ex asked me about Christmas and I stated my plans are to be out of town. He was not happy as it is my year to have our son. I was feeling very much the bad guy as usual even though as I write this he is with his dad and it is my weekend. I want our son to see his dad on Christmas but it’s just not possible this year. Anyway your words made me feel better as I recalled all the mom things I have done to make my sons life as perfect and whole as possible. Thank you so very much!
❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for writing and publishing this. It helped me more than you can fathom. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I was a mom who showed up, until I couldn’t anymore.
Wish we had this sort of support, when I was having babies and going through tough times. It could have made a big difference in the way I handled things, and in the choices I made.
I married at 15, became a mother at 16. The end of my sophomore year of high school, I was pregnant. Married my high-school sweet heart. Not so different story than others, from a different generation. Some are still married, some are not.
I have four children, two girls and two boys, that I love more than anything. I have also been blessed with 10 grandchildren.
For me, there was another factor. Severe depression and little knowledge, of how to deal with these type of things. They gave you tranquilizers and told you it was normal. Everything would be OK. But it wasn’t. I knew I wasn’t right – I did all the same things ya’ll have mentioned, but I felt so overwhelmed and scared. Concerned for the safety of my kids, I made the decision, to leave and let my children be raised by others. My daughters were raised by their dads parents. My sons were raised by their dad and step-mother.
They have turned out just as I’d hoped. They are loving, caring wives, husbands and parents. They are well educated adults who have maintained marriages, despite all problems they have faced. I am close to my oldest daughter and sons. My other daughter, chose long ago to sever ties.
I am 65 years old now. I know I made the right decision at the time. It doesn’t lessen the pain of never seeing them during the holidays or birthdays. It’s something I live with every single day. I have no regrets, because I did what I felt in my heart was right.
Please realize how fortunate you all are, to have access to this type of forum and knowledge.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Fill them with love, laughter, lots of hugs, and joy for everyone you have in your life!!
This Christmas my youngest is very angry with me for not coming to his house or taking his youngest on a trip w/me. I think he has forgotten the time I refused (after his father demanded that I do) to abort him and how, after the divorce, I whisked him out of harm’s way and tried very hard to make sure he had the things he needed (sometimes inadequately). I have wept over this, but I WAS there for my beautiful children. Always – because I loved them all so much. This made me feel much better,
Thank you for sharing, Eldest Daughter – I know you remember even if the youngest has momentarily forgotten.
Bummer, borrow a metal detector. Thanks for this
Yes we show up in times when others just run, when we get the diagnosis of schizophrenia, and all that goes with it . WE SHOW UP ,, and others pay attention believe it or not others watch how we handle all the stuff that life throws at us and with God’s amazing grace we move through all the stuff Thank you
All I can say to this article is thank you…MUCH needed in the phase of life I am in with my children. Made me feel so much better and exactly what I needed this morning.
So touching…. meant a lot to me. Obviously to many others as well. Their responses mean as much as your article…thank you.
Thank you for this. I needed it today. Today I was home sick thinking that I would rest. Instead I had three needy children home who needed me, but it was a good day and I was happy to be there for them.
Also, my son lost a phone in the snow several years ago — we rented a metal detector and found it in no time!
Thank you for this! I have to share one of my happy being present moments. My son-in-law of less than two years was playing football with some friends in the shallow water of the lake where our family cottage is. His wedding ring slipped off and fell to the sandy bottom of the lake. He and my daughter were very upset about his lost ring. Six of us searched for about 20 minutes, walking around very slowly so the sand would not shift. Luckily the water is crystal clear. We were all about to give up any hope of finding it, when I spotted the smallest sliver of metal shining below. My SIL reached down and grabbed a handful of sand and it was left there in his hand when the sand drifted back to the bottom! I had never gotten a bigger hug from either him or my daughter. Instead of the one arm hugs he usually gave me, I got the biggest bear hug ever!
Marge, I love that story. That is wonderful! ~Rachel
Ah lovely, thank you. It might not seem or feel like much, you’re right, covering the basics everyday, and I do wish I could be a better mum a lot of the time but I CAN do that, I can show up. Day in day out exhausted or not they will always have the basics covered at the very least no matter how I’m feeling and when they’re older and someone says to them ‘I never felt like my parents were there for me’ they won’t understand what that feels like. Lovely post, thank you 🙂
great post … my boys are getting older and I’ve lost my shit A LOT … I’ve made mistakes A LOT … many moments I’m not proud of – but I show up and try again and again and again. The best memories are each of them separately thanking me and noticing that I’m always there for them … oh they call me out for my mistakes too but they notice … I love my boys and being a Mum is the best !!
I see this was written 4 years ago, yet by divine intervention, it found its way to me today. Thank you. I was having one of those days, yesterday, when I could only see my flaws. Thank you for reminding me that I have shown up, consistently, and in the ways that matter most, for 22 years now. Such a blessing!
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