I‘m a mother and I’m a better person because of it. Motherhood has taught me patience, joy, forgiveness, love, and so much more. But the learning process was anything but easy.
In the months before motherhood struck, I was a 20-something, ambitious working woman in the prime of her life. A newly minted wife with a respectable career in Human Resources for a trendy dot-com, I was in “acquisition mode.” My life was consumed with achieving the external markers of success – college degree, high paying salary, prestigious job title, ultra-cool employer, finest shoes and handbags, perfectly coiffed hair, etc.
I jumped into motherhood with the same zest that I put into my career. Like a naive teenager, I was invincible. Adding a child to my idyllic life was a non-issue; I was a strong woman and capable of achieving and doing anything, and doing it really well.
Yea, right.
Motherhood has a sneaky way of breaking even the strongest woman down into a withering, emotional mess as she realizes she’s losing her former self to something new and uncertain. And that’s why the upcoming film Motherhood, starring Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards and Minnie Driver, is a movie I’m looking forward to seeing. The bittersweet comedy reveals the challenges every mother faces as she seeks to find her own unique voice in the turbulent everyday experience of motherhood.
Take a peek at the trailer:
Today, my life is vastly different from the former life I led. Instead of daily Starbuck runs, I run to the carpool line at the kids school. I’ve traded high-heels for flip-flops (except on special occasions; I’m still a woman!). My work fits into my life, not the other way around. But most important, I’m rich and grateful that my definition of “rich” has expanded beyond the material wealth I worshiped in my 20s. Despite the things I left behind with my former self, there is so much that I gained.
Every day, I find pieces of myself that were left crumbled when I first became a mom. And every day the pieces come together like a beautiful, perfectly-designed mosaic. I’m still me, just put together in a new way. And I like how it’s turning out.
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Motherhood opens October 23, 2009 in select cities. Follow the film on Twitter: @MotherhoodFilm or become a fan of the film on FaceBook.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful post, Michele, and the movie looks like fun! I think as my kids get a little older I’m slowly rediscovering more bits of myself.
This is a great post Michele. I definitely think that being a mom has helped me to grow as an individual. (I hope so anyway!)
It could be the hormones (as my 3rd baby is only 3 weeks old!) but this brought tears to my eyes and gave me goosebumps. Well done, Mama!
I love the statement “my work fits into my life”…that is how I have been feeling, and trying to figure out why I don’t have the drive to get to the top like I did in my 20′s…change in priority. My new life put together in a new way…love it!!
Thanks for the post!
I’m 42, a mother of 4 trying to figure out how to put those crumbled pieces back together to make something beautiful again…I finally have a little time to figure out who I am again…definitely not the same person I was 4 babies ago…hoping I’m better! Thanks for the mosaic metaphor…can’t WAIT for the movie!
Thanks Julie, for your comment. I’m glad you liked the mosaic metaphor. It took me a while to finally see the beauty in the crumbled pieces that I’ve been putting back together and as with everything in motherhood, it’s a work in progress.
Michele
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