FRIEND OF ARQ FEATURE: MOTHERS
Journal
05.21.21

mothers

Rebecca, @rebeccacaridad

What are the first words that come to mind describing your experience of motherhood?

I’d say the first word that comes to mind when describing my experience of motherhood is acceptance. Mothering for me has been a lesson in accepting what is. Whether that is a screaming toddler or the acceptance of my own capacity as a parent. I’ve realized that in the process of accepting my children I’ve learned how to accept myself in ways that I never knew I could. Loving them has taught me to love everything more fully. Figuring out how to support them has made me realize all the ways I could show up for my own inner child and current self. Accepting the reality of parenthood is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done and it’s helped heal every area of my life. Grateful for my little teachers 🖤


Ahjanae, @zion1991

What is one of your most cherished rituals with your family.

My most cherished ritual with my family is when we get to sit down at the table for dinner from a long day of working or chaos.

Bri, @moonandcheeze

Can you tell us about the first moment you truly felt like a mother?

I felt like a mother for the first time when I got that first positive pregnancy test. In that one moment, I could feel my brain rewiring. I knew there were things I had to change about my life to ensure that my baby got the life I had always dreamed for them. I also just felt different. I felt protective. I felt hopeful. I felt something greater than myself. And I felt excited about the future and that I could leave some lasting impact. I still feel that way to this day. My thinking changed completely in that moment. I really just felt like I became a mother right at that moment.

Sade, @blackandolive

What are the first words that come to mind describing your experience of motherhood?

A marathon. Being a mother is like running a marathon, there is always something going on, something that needs to be done and always a baby to soothe, which doesn’t allow much idle time.

Marley, @queenofqi

What are the first words that come to mind describing your experience of motherhood?

Nurturing Discernment

Cultivating big nurturing energy and valuing it as much as the patriarchy values what we call Big Dick Energy.

Our world is starving for care and presence. But no one will tell you how precious your energy is while they help themselves to it. They don’t want the price to go up.

Mom’s get to start valuing our nurturing. There is no higher art form, no more reliable currency.


Lezi, @nandi.naya

What are the first words that come to mind describing your experience of motherhood?

Motherhood has led me to the journey self-realization. In this stage what remains is a pure radiance of being, a total union with Life, an experience of endless love, connection, understanding, and openness to existence.

This is the journey.


Rachel, @rachelgloriaia

What is one of your most cherished rituals with your family.

When I was pregnant with my youngest, Norah, at bed time my oldest, Zoë, would sing to my belly. Norah is now a year and a half and we are still singing Zoë’s bedtime songs to each other every night.

Rachel, @rachel.the.lamb

What are the first words that come to mind describing your experience of motherhood?

Sympatico; being on the same wavelength.
It’s so simple yet so complex how surreal it is to see two humans who came from you carry so many nuances of yourself. An out of body experience if you will because you step aside and conjure up unspoken memories of your own childhood and watch them merge into new experiences through them. I sometimes wonder if my own Mother has memories of chocolate covered hands resting on cheeks, or heads moving up and down to a breathing rhythm while drool seeps on to her chest because I fell asleep against her. This is as my children always did, with their curls sticky/sweaty against my skin. Maybe one day my daughter will also experience these things if she chooses but for now we breathe in and out together, mutually.

Valerie, @mammafolk

What are the first words that come to mind describing your experience of motherhood?

Some of the first words that come to mind describing my experience of motherhood are healing, fulfilling, and sacrificial.


Kaitlyn, @trufolk

What is one of your most cherished rituals with your family?

My most cherished rituals with my family are probably our art days. No chores, no cooking,... Ryan’s casting rings, I’m sewing/painting/crafting, and the boys are either helping us or in their own paints or colors. It’s messy but the moment you look up and see it all happening, my heart feels it’s most fullest.