This year, Mother's day happens to fall on my birthday a double-whamee celebration for our family and all the mothers in it! Recently it got me thinking about the sweet coincidence of celebrating both my life and my motherhood on the same day. And I wanted to share with you a few thoughts that I've been pondering lately.
When our firstborn Noah was born, he actually arrived on Father's day 2013. It couldn't have been a more perfect first Father's day for my husband who couldn't have asked for a more poignant and meaningful gift for that particular occasion. The significance of Noah's birthday falling when it did is something that stayed with us both for a long time. The new identity we gained as we embarked upon parenthood took some getting used to as we juggled our very first experiences of sleepless nights, sterilising EVERYTHING, feeding, clothing and loving this sweet, helpless gift of life.
It changes you when you have a baby. Immediately your focus shifts and your instinctive need to nurture another person takes over every part of you. It's as much an emotional change of identity as it is a physical one. As a parent, everything I do has a deliberate purpose and it is normally to do with providing in one way or another for the family.
Whenever we celebrate our children's birthdays I always celebrate as much for myself as for them because their births are also my greatest achievements in life. Birthdays are so intrinsically linked with motherhood by the very fact that it takes a mother to give birth for there to be a 'birthday' in the first place. And so when my birthday comes around I am reminded of my own mother, of her love, sacrifice and everything she did to ensure our safe passage into the world.
We celebrate our birthdays once a year but really Mothers and Fathers are to be celebrated every day. It was, after all, my children who awoke within me a very real sense of purpose, of who I am and what my life is for.
I'm so lucky to be able to celebrate Motherhood on my birthday because I get to spend the day honouring the great mothers in my life and being truly thankful for the fact that I have a mother and I am a mother too.
How do you plan on celebrating?
Love,
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