Grounded Mama
Reflections by Samentha Moore, Event Planner, LaJoy Plans
Being a mama is a contact sport that requires a type of endurance that can’t be beat. Being a single, momprenuer is a tightrope, that on many days, I feel that I’m failing. There is always a litany of tasks to juggle, and our brains thinking about a million things in a millisecond! From PTA meetings, to signing contracts, and everything in between, somehow dinner makes it on the table at the same time kung-fu practice is ending and agenda notebooks are being signed. Mom guilt is real, living in a world where everyone and everything can be tugging at you and requiring your utmost attention tandemly, it is easy to feel that you could have gone a little harder or focused just a bit better at any given task. As my little girl grows into her own self the more I realize the best thing that I can do is give her a view of who I am—not just as a mother, but as a woman. It is important for her to see me be more than “mama.” Above any other job, it is my main goal to always teach her everything that I know, carefully and intentionally opening up my whole world to her so that she can learn and be exposed to as much as possible. Every ay we grow together, she teaches me just as much as I teach her—like the way she views the world and listening to her heart. As with everything, some days seem to get the best of me. These are some things that have helped a working mom stay afloat:
Meditate: Along with my faith, this has become a daily practice for me. At first, it was quite a struggle to sit still and just be. I was always thinking of what else I could be doing. Over time, as I continued to practice, meditation helped me to become more mindful and grounded within myself. My daughter saw me meditating and decided to join me; now it has become a regular practice for us jointly and individually. It has helped us to create a space to communicate differently and more purposefully.
Family: Coming from a big family, it is important to me to be close to family. I did not personally have the privilege of growing up with my grandparents, since they lived in Haiti. It warms my heart to see my daughter have the blessing of seeing her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins regularly!
Tribe: It is so important to show what healthy friendships look like; this is the chosen extended family. Having constant and loving friendships in my life has helped my daughter experience a net of close-knit and trusted friends that can be a village to rear her and listen to her, and to stand in the gap for me when and if I somehow cannot be there for her.
Fun: Taking a moment to just have fun! Because there are a lot of things that take up so much of our days, quality time and just having fun always hits the reset button for the both of us! It’s hard some days when work, school, and extracurricular activities lead all the way up to bedtime. Board games, popcorn and a movie, or a good old dance party melts away so much stress and tension and helps us keep joy.
I think, if nothing else, this year has shown us just how short and fragile life can be. Taking time to be present and find the small blessings make the biggest differences. Some days can feel so tough, it may feel difficult to find those small blessings. But from one mama to another, just know when you feel like you are at your end, you are not alone; you got this.
