When I was a new mom, home with my newborn, simple routines like taking my daughter for a neighborhood stroller walk or grabbing groceries at Trader Joe’s felt heavy and scary.
Early on in motherhood, I saw a postpartum therapist who talked me through these fears. We went through each scenario and met each “what if” with a practical solution.
I’ll never forget her simple answer when I asked, what if my baby starts screaming in the middle of Target?
“Just leave the cart in the middle of the store and go home.”
Eventually with practice, this task felt easy and I no longer had to hype myself up to grab diapers (this was before drive-up existed!).
Our babies first learn to sit up, then crawl, and eventually take their first steps. We celebrate milestone after milestone.
And,
Moms grow up, too.
Milestone after milestone, you’ve grown into the mom you are now.
The first time flying with your baby alone.
Leaving your child with a babysitter.
Making your first mom friend.
Sitting in a parent-teacher conference.
Getting a second opinion on your child’s new diagnosis.
I often panic when I think about the parts of motherhood that are ahead of me.
I agonize over the scary parts ahead.
“How will I navigate the teenage years?”
“I can’t imagine teaching the girls to drive.”
And it’s moments like today where I’m hauling my 5-year-old into Costco to buy 4 giant Arborvitae trees and a slice of pizza in between carpools where I stop and smile.
It’s stupid and silly, but I see this as a milestone. It’s growth. It’s learning to not care what you look like. It’s learning how to respond to your child who wants something in a store, saying “no” and dealing with their reaction in public. It’s buying 4 ridiculously huge trees on a time crunch and figuring how to Jenga them into the back of the car.
But it’s the SAME feeling driving away as it was when you were a new mom buying diapers.
It’s an “I did it” and a deep sigh of relief and pride.
It’s important we stop and recognize these mommy milestones. These moments of scary that make us stronger.
Yes, it’s going to continue to get harder, but we have proven time after time, little victory after victory, that we can do hard things.
Just one milestone after another.
