We had friends over the other day and my friend said she’s paying attention to how I mother because she thinks I’m doing a great job and wants to do the same with her future kids. Everyone agreed 🥲.
We’re the only one of our friends with kids (3 y/o and almost 3 month old) and to be recognized in a role where the labor often goes unnoticed felt so good. I genuinely delight in my children and love being a mother, but it is 24/7 work. I never dreamt of being a parent but with my own healing and growth I found myself wanting to be. I spent a lot of years working on my own self regulation and studying child development (I’m a child therapist) and that has really been paying off in a way I wasn’t expecting at the time.
When someone gives birth, their brain matter changes to aid in caring for their baby. I’ve been in the thick of that for 3 years now and while I can and do think of other things, my entire being is very much entrenched in “mother,” and it can be hard to navigate identity outside of it. so to be seen and honored for that felt really special.
May 29, 2024
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I’m not sure I’d really recommend this because it’s more exhausting and permanently life-altering than almost any other thing you could imagine. But being a parent connects me to others in a way I had never experienced before having my own kid.
I love every child because I love my child. I believe every person is trying their best, is trying to be good, because I see that in him. I feel connected to the grief and suffering of other parents because I see how to love your child is necessarily to be on the knife’s edge of grief at all times. I have found parenting politically radicalizing because I cannot accept that my child deserves more than other children, that he gets to be safe and fed and surrounded by infinite possibility when most others are not.
Having a kid has not necessarily made me happier, but it has given me a deeper understanding of the human condition, and I am grateful for that.
Mar 16, 2024
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I’m a children’s therapist and a mother so it quite literally is on my brain 24/7.
Grateful for the duel role because my work makes me a better mother, and being a mother makes me a better therapist.
I could say so much on the subject but I probably wouldn’t stfu so I just won’t even start 🫶 but if anyone wants to chat I’m always down!
Jul 4, 2024
deeply seen by this essay in pioneer works broadcast by kate shannon jenkins. recommended reading for mothers (duh) or anyone who knows a mother (lol)
i’m 36, a single mom with two kids—4 and 8—two different dads. i’ve spent so long feeling ashamed and embarrassed by this but actually i think it’s radical as f*ck and i love my lil squad 🤲🏼
May 10, 2025
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5d ago
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Humans have always danced. It is part of who we are, yet we have been conditioned to be self conscious, to think that we do not move our bodies good enough. Dancing is beyond judgement. Dancing is not a skill, it is our soul moving through our bodies, expressed in movement. Dancing is healing. Dancing is bodily autonomy. Dancing is FUN! Any feeling you are feeling can be moved through with dance yet even alone, you fear looking foolish. Kill the judge in your mind, shut the fuck up, and MOVE 🌊
Apr 24, 2025
In Tarot, The Fool is the first card in the Major Arcana, which represents the life cycle. These cycles we are continuously going through in our lives, not just once. The final card of the Major Arcana is The World (which I have tattooed very large on my thigh), which signifies the completion of a cycle and natural ascension into the next. We are then thrust back into the Fool, with a bit more wisdom.
The Fool as an archetype is one of joy, curiosity, spontaneity, and trust. The Fool is pure of heart, knowing that the Universe has got their back. This innate trust allows The Fool to be playful, to take risks, and truly believe everything will work out. The more we go through life and experience loss, grief, heartache, trauma, the harder it becomes to embrace this energy. I’ve found that as healing goes on, just as it’s shown in tarot, we return to this natural state of being. We start off as The Fool when we are wee little babies, and if we are lucky can return there a few cycles at a time, with more wisdom gained each time.
The goal of The Fool is to have positive experiences, maybe for fun, maybe to grow. There is an acceptance with The Fool, a kind of “this is what is, how can I make this work well for me?” Everything works out for The Fool because they don’t know it can’t. Anything we go through in life, we can use to grow. I personally believe we all could benefit embracing the archetypal energy of The Fool a bit more. The Fool doesn’t stop to worry what other people will think! The Fool does not fret about what if’s! The Fool is in the moment!
4d ago