I know you remember it well. Every last detail, including the smells and the weather, the nurses, what was on the TV or your playlist. You remember how you felt and what you were wearing when it started.
Memories are etched into your mind that you can never escape from, good and not-so-good.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… it goes something like that right?
Mothers have a story. An amazing story that they long to tell and share, that makes them vulnerable, raw, and real.
Maybe your story involves a birth momma or a surrogate, but you still have an incredible birth story.
I have a birth story and have shared it on occasion, and it brings back all the feelings, including some tears. My first son was born over 26 years ago but it seems like it was just yesterday, and I still love to share the story. My second son’s story was quite different than the first, with induction on my due date, and although so totally different, I love to share it, too.
I have two birth stories that involve other birth mommas and didn’t involve any uterus action on my part. The truth is, everyone’s story is different and every birth is different, and no two births from the same momma are the same.
YOUR birth story is part of you and your motherhood journey. It’s beautiful and messy and hard and emotional and even tragic sometimes, but tell me about it; we need to share these parts of ourselves with each other. Perhaps what you share with me will help me, or perhaps I can help you.
We need to share our stories.
I recently have been promoted to “Tiki,” my version of Grandma thrice in the last 8 months. My sweet sons have married amazing women, and they became mothers in May and August and December. They each have their story. Very different stories, very different circumstances, different highs and lows, and different places they chose to give birth. But never the less, they have their OWN story.
These stories never leave us, in fact, they make us who we are. They shape us into the mother we are and will become as we grow and change.
Don’t be afraid to share your story. This journey of motherhood can be scary sometimes and is different for all of us, so let’s learn from each other and share YOUR story.
