I am a Woman and I am a Mother

I am a woman and I am a mother.

To be a mother is to lovingly care for something. To care for myself, to care for the land and all her beings, to care for the children.

To be a mother is to have soiled hands-fingernails filled with dirt and calluses a physical reminder of my love; hands who are filled with bodily fluids as I care for tiny humans.

To be a mother is to have pain-the pain of hours spent in the sun, crouched to the Earth; the pain of carrying, first in my body, then always on my left hip; then the pain in my heart when I am slowly needed less and less.

To be a mother is to have courage-the courage to continue learning; the courage to push my body in service to the land; the courage to open my heart wide and let in more love then I thought was possible; the courage to ask for help; the courage to take a close look at myself and see what I wish to pass down; the courage to stand in my truth and the truth of my family and raise our child the way we believe regardless of cultural norms.

To be a mother is to have joy- the joy of creation; the joy of listening; the joy of play; the joy of giving wholeheartedly to something other than self; the joy of loving and being loved in return.

I am a mother and I am a woman.