It’s simply the beginning of a thousand tiny goodbyes.
Hey there! I’m Mikala—a wife, mother of 5, family doctor, well-being advocate, and the author of Ordinary on Purpose. Each month, my writing reaches millions of women, but I am thrilled to be connecting with YOU. I’m truly grateful to have you here!
All in Motherhood
No one told me just how amazing it is to watch this little person you met at his very first breath GROW UP. Even way up over your own head!!!
None of it feels shiny! And it certainly isn’t perfect, but it IS beautiful.
It’s sobering to know that before IV antibiotics were widely available, my daughter’s particular diagnosis had a blindness rate of 20% and with certain complications, a mortality rate >40%.
Ask your family what they love most and give yourself the gift of a beautiful Christmas season by doing just the few things they feel matter most.
If you feel like you are failing your child, I have a story for you.
You’ll be a little sad as he grows, but you’ll mostly be so grateful to be a part of it all. It is such a gift to watch him GROW!!
But these days, hugs are few and far between. Usually given with a limp arm. Or the ‘lean in’ with no arms at all!!
And showing up to this mess and noise through exhaustion (and sometimes tears) is part of raising a beautiful family!!
Motherhood is exhausting and scary and filled to the brim with beautiful, heart-stopping, tear-jerking, breathtaking moments. And you get to feel every single emotion!
Your kids need a mom who laughs and cries and yells and dances and forgives and prays and hugs and loves. And LIVES!!
It is perfectly okay to admit this change is hard on my momma heart. It’s okay that it feels necessary to grieve.
He’s practically grown. And yet, he’s the same boy I’ve always known.
This is the beautiful, bittersweet ache of motherhood—every day we hold on and we let go. And our hearts simply grow.
That little boy you always knew is right there…and somehow this beautiful new person is emerging too.
Sometimes I stare across the room at him when he doesn’t know I’m watching and think, ‘When exactly did he GROW UP?’
I’m giving myself the time and grace and space to wonder. I’m giving myself some time to just…BE. And I’m calling it my Grace Period.
That’s what I’m supposed to say, but it’s not what I’m thinking as you begin kindergarten.