“i am enough” – the power of moms

It’s been a year.

One year since I sat in the Rogers, Minnesota, Starbucks and typed out the words about being enough as a mom. I remember the morning, a morning where I really didn’t know what to write about, and I was simply feeling a bit overwhelmed. So much to do, so little time, but not knowing how to start. I was chatting with my business partner and he sent a message to me. Simple, yet profound. He said, “why don’t you just write about why being a mom is enough?”

So I did.

I’ve pondered that phrase, that I am enough, phrase over the last year. I’ve watched it grow from a phrase to a movement. Those little words ended up getting viewed 2.5 million times. I ended up talking on television about being enough. It’s been translated into many different languages. And today? Today I believe in the truth in those words more than ever.

I am enough.

How many times did you go through your day questioning if you’re doing enough?

How many times did you go to bed thinking that you fell short again?

How many times did you look at others and compare and feel like you need to do more?

How many times did you apologize for not seeming to measure up?

How many times did you let expectations of what you think you should do overwhelm?

Enough.

You are enough.

Being enough doesn’t mean being perfect. Nor does it mean sitting around doing nothing. Being enough means being willing to embrace you in the midst of your life, whether it be roses and rainbows or the messiest stickiest place, and seeing the value in you. It’s about understanding that at the end of your days that your children are probably going to remember you for the amazing little unique things that only you can do.

Listen: Only you knows how to comfort your child in the midst of a thunderstorm. Only you knows the exact gift to buy at Christmas or birthdays or just because. Only you knows the secret phrases to put on notes that are tucked into lunch boxes. Only you knows what it feels like to go to bed with that ache in your heart because your child hurts and you don’t know how to fix it. Only you knows the joy of wrapping your arms around your little one and giving them sweet hugs in the morning. Only you knows how to mother your children in just the right, you are enough, way.

Sometimes it’s easy to look at the world filled with expectations and to attempt to derive value from the never ending have it all together to-do list of motherhood.

The world missed seeing the uniqueness of you.

It missed seeing how you know to kiss owes in just the right way. It missed out seeing you staying awake late waiting for the washing machine to finish so you could put your daughter’s soccer shirt in the dryer so she’s ready for a game. It missed out on the moments when you rearranged the budget again and again and skimped out on something for you so your child could get what they needed. It missed out on you standing in your room, gathering your resolve, and trying to negotiate with an overly tired not wanting to wear anything you choose toddler. It missed out on seeing you fight for what is right even though it’s harder than anything you’ve ever done.

And now?

Now we live knowing we are enough.

You need to know it on the days when you’re ready to quit. You need to know it on the days when you feel like you’re failing. You need to know it on the days when you watch the other moms and compare your life with theirs and feel like you’re falling short.

For a year I am enough has been our rallying cry of motherhood.

And now?

[Tweet “Now we’re going to live knowing we’re enough.”]

We’re going to live with intention and purpose and joy. We’re going to live loving our friends and other moms and we’re not going to turn a blind eye to those in need. We’re going to live knowing that our value isn’t derived by doing more, running ourselves exhausted, and racing to keep up with the hypothetical Jones’s.

That is powerful.

Imagine the community of strength we will become.

There will be days that we fall. Days where we doubt. Days where we want to throw our hands our hands in the air and yell I quit. They’ll still be there. But our worth, your worth, is never dependent on those days, those things.

So today, today, look up, look in the mirror, look at you and without a critical eye I want you to tell yourself one thing. And not only tell yourself it but live it.

I am enough.

That’s our journey now.

You and me.

And the millions more joining in the I am enough cry.

Onward powerful brave giving real and I am enough mom.

We have awesome to do. 

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Read: Why Being a Mom is Enough

all pics, except the selfie in Target, courtesy of Hannah Nicole Photography