Welcome to Mom Motivation Mondays where weekly contributing writers share their motherhood experiences to encourage you to find the joy in being a mom.

{This week: Post by Kristin}

If life is cataloged into seasons, I am in the vulnerable season of raising tiny humans. I have two young children belong to two different mommy groups within my community, and write for various mommy websites and publications. In my day-to-day life, offline and online, I interact with numerous mothers – each with different backgrounds, different paths, and different stories. My whole world, quite literally, is motherhood.

Maternity has overturned many stones in my life – many realizations about myself and others that I had previously overlooked before embodying the “Mommy” role.

Like, how completely crazy it is to carry a baby in your own body for 9+ months. Or how physically taxing it is to birth a human being. And then the most difficult part; nurturing and caring for these precious babies who rely on you in totality, and putting yourself second in everyday life, for the rest of your life.

The weight of these facts alone is torrential. But these are just the bare-bones of motherhood – the givens. What happens when you throw in the variables – the ups and the downs, the big decisions, the day-to-day hustle, or the unexpected?

If there’s one thing I’ve come to realize in my short three year journey as a mother, it’s this: Mothers are strong. Resilient even.

I’ve watched the mothers around me as they’ve made it through the hard days, endured great adversities, and overcame certain privations — no two stories are the same, but there is always a common thread that bonds these women together: they’re strong, like a mother.

Strong Like a Mother

A mother who smiled in excitement and then fell in heartbreak, as she persevered through four consecutive miscarriages, all without missing a step at a demanding job and taking care of a busy toddler.

Strong like a mother.

A mother whose spouse is deployed, and she’s steadfast at home — an anchor — raising the children with grace.

Strong like a mother

A pregnant mother who chose multiple, extreme surgeries — putting her own life on the line — to save her unborn child.

Strong like a mother.

A mother who desperately wanted to stay home with her children, but returned to the workforce to bring home a paycheck for her family.

Strong like a mother.

A thriving career woman who put her own dreams on the back burner to stay home with her children because it was the best fit for her family.

Strong like a mother.

A mother blind-sighted by a divorce and forced down a path she didn’t plan —  all the while transforming into a powerful, single mother who provides the best love and care for her children.

Strong like a mother.

A mother who launched an extremely successful business during nap times and in between dishes and changing diapers.

Strong like a mother.

A mother who fought many long, hard years for her title, through infertility hardships, and whose persistence lead to a life with a beautiful, healthy baby.

Strong like a mother.

A mother who’s in the thick of it consumed with sleepless nights and hushing cries from a very tiny newborn.

Strong like a mother.

A mother who gave birth to her son much too early and watched him undergo several critical surgeries, while she sat in the waiting room, helpless, and prayed.

Strong like a mother.

***

Every mother is battling her own obstacles as she navigates the open seas of motherhood – this journey is not for the fragile. Let’s lift each other up as mothers and as the strong women that we are – it’s nice to be reminded that we’re not alone when the seas get rough.

Share your story on Instagram with the hashtag #stronglikeamother and keep pushing forward, mamas.

Because you are stronger and more inspiring than you know.

Kristin is a mom to a 2 year old daughter and 6 month old son. Pre-motherhood she worked in the corporate marketing and public relations world. She is now a stay-at-home-mom and writer, penning all of the emotions, joys, and hardships of motherhood. You can find her writing regularly over at Tribe Magazine or follow her daily #momlife shenanigans on Instagram @KristinHelms_writer.

View all of Mom Motivation Mondays from moms who want to encourage you in this season of life called “motherhood”.