Happy Mother’s Day
to all the moms, grandmas, aunties and anyone else blessed with the honor of being a mother figure to a child of any age.
I am lucky enough to have been a mom to my favorite person in the whole wide world for the last 11 years, 12 if you’re counting when she was cooking in my belly. It’s been the most challenging and life changing role of my life, but I would not trade it for anything!
Those who know me know that I cried when I found out I was pregnant. I was not ready. I was 35 years old but Lord, I was NOT READY!!! My body was ready (apparently), but not my mind. I was busy. I had plans. I was running a business. I was supposed to go to Italy before I had a baby!
I cried, but I accepted I was going to have a child, ready or not. Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful that I was able to get pregnant naturally and without issue. So many of my friends had difficulty getting pregnant without assistance or with complications but me… knocked up within 2 weeks of getting off the pill and had the easiest pregnancy and delivery ever. Don’t hate me.
But…
Let me be the first to tell you, becoming a mom 35 years into life as an active, independent, entrepreneurial woman was TOUGH! Body changes aside (WTF with the porn star size boobs?!), the toughest part for me was the loss of freedom. I was so used to being on my own schedule. I could wake up early and leave any time I needed to to attend a breakfast meeting, start prepping for jobs early in the morning without a care in the world, go to business meetings in the evenings or work as late as I needed. That changed immediately upon having a child. It didn’t really dawn on me that that would be the case until the reality basically punched me in the face. I was seriously of the mindset that the baby was going to adapt to my lifestyle, not the other way around. Man, was I in for a rude awakening!
There were some major growing pains in those first few years. Feeling sorry for myself for my new identity and new lifestyle and oh, the mommy guilt! It felt like a lose-lose situation for this mama, but as Alexa grew up, it got easier and I figured out how to embrace my new lifestyle. It wasn’t always easy and still isn’t but I am so grateful for a business that allows me the flexibility to do what I love and earn an income to support myself and my daughter comfortably, a flexible schedule to service my clients and be able to enjoy my mommy duties including chaperoning field trips and volunteer activities. It took a few years to get the kinks worked out, but that’s life.
Being a mom has taught me so much about myself. That I can be patient when I need to be. That I am stronger than I think I am. That I am very capable. That growing up doesn’t mean you have to be an old fuddy duddy. In fact, being an older mom of sorts (lots of people my age are grandmothers already…I know, crazy right?!) worked out well. She keeps me young. I do a lot of things that I’m confident I wouldn’t do if not for being Alexa’s mom. She has made me less selfish because when you’re a mom, you automatically put your child first. I also chose to just have Alexa and no more because having a baby is hard! It’s a lot of work and every month, every milestone reached, every time it got easier, the thought of starting over again was just not appealing to me. I’m perfectly happy with my one and only perfect child, for me.
Mother’s Day is a day to honor moms for their hard work and dedication to their children. I want to acknowledge two people who should also get props.
First is my own mom. Unfortunately, Alexa never got to meet her and vice versa. She passed away 5 years before Alexa was even a thought. I often think about how different life would be if she were still around. It certainly would have been easier if she were able to help me, especially in those early days. I wish she could have experienced what an amazing granddaughter she has…
The other person is Alexa’s paternal Grandmother who passed away a few years ago. She loved Alexa and luckily Alexa did get to meet her and know her for a few years. Here she is braiding her Grandmother’s hair when she was 2 years old…she was and is such a funny kid and Grandma was such a good sport.
Whatever your story is, and we all have one…I hope you love being a mom as much as I do and that you get to spend time celebrating the partnership you have with your kids.
This year, we celebrated a day early with dinner on Mother’s Day Eve at Flemings Steakhouse in Palo Alto. It was delicious. We highly recommend it if you’ve never been. The burrata crostini appetizer was bomb! We had to stop ourselves from eating it so we had room for our main dishes. Alexa ordered her favorite bacon mac n cheese (only available on kid’s menu) and I had the small plate filet mignon with risotto. And of course, it wouldn’t be complete without dessert. Alexa chose the creme brulée which was served with their homemade whip cream…soooo goood!!!!
Cheers to many more years of mother/daughter or mother/son fun!
