Hey Mamas, You’re Beautiful

Hey, Mamas, you’re beautiful. Has anyone told you this lately? Because it’s true. And I know you don’t always feel it. Maybe your pre-pregnancy jeans are staring at you from the bottom drawer. Maybe you’ve been spit up on this morning. Maybe you haven’t slept through the night in months. Maybe sweatpants are your only friends right now, but–I mean it–, you’re beautiful in mind, body, and soul. Here’s why:

Mind

You may not feel like a brainiac because you’ve got the Thomas the Train song on repeat in your head, but think about what you do in a day. I haven’t met you, but chances are you make decision after decision for your family each minute of every day. There isn’t anything that goes on in your house, with your kids, or at your job without you making sure it’s a success. You work hard to keep a career and home running smoothly. When you are teaching your children, you come up with mastermind ideas to keep them engaged, busy, and happy. You plan, and plan, and re-plan, fully prepared with Plans B and C if the first attempts fail. The mental load of a mother is massive, but you do it every day and you do it well. Stand up a little taller as you reflect on all that you accomplished today. It’s pretty amazing.

Body

Your body is a constant reminder of your choices. You let one or more little beings grow and thrive in it. You created life, and with each one, you took care to introduce him or her to this world. With every hiccup and kick, you were there, providing room to grow for your little ones. Have you ever reflected on the magic of that? Your body is so incredible that it created some of your favorite people on this planet. Who cares if you can’t get back into whatever size you were before your title changed to “mom”?  You are beautiful. So stare straight into that mirror and smile. You were the most important participant in each miracle.

Soul

Your soul is phenomenal. Every day you find new ways to love and appreciate your family. Each time you hug or snuggle one of those babies you can feel it. Your body fills up with soul-aching beauty. Every moment you see a baby take a step for the first time, or you hear “mommy”called on repeat throughout the house, or you manage to get every child to nap at one time, take a deep, cleansing breath. You were a thriving, fantastic being before you gave birth, you now get to bestow onto your children your love of literature, music, travel, exploration, and life. Being a mother reaches you deep within your soul. Of this you should be proud.

Finally, if you can’t muster this kind of appreciation for yourself, or you can’t understand how beautiful and outstanding you really are, look at yourself from your children’s eyes. If you do that, you will see their hero, their confidante, their nurse, their purpose, their mentor, their friend, their partner, their reason for living. If you see yourself from your children’s eyes, it will be hard to deny the absolute beautiful human you are.

Tessa
Tessa A. Adams is a graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Masters in reading. She is a language arts and creative writing teacher and is the co-author of the blog www.familyfootnote.com. She has three children and when she is not mothering or teaching, she is writing. Her work can be found in Fine Lines Literary Journal, Huff Post Parents, Empty Sink Publishing, Route 7 Review, Sammiches and Psychmeds, THAT Literary Review, The Sunlight Press, xoJane, and Parent.co.

7 COMMENTS

  1. Beautifully stated Tessa! You are such a great and inspirational writer! Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement!

  2. There aren’t enough ways or too many times you can compliment a mother. Reminding us to do it to ourselves on a daily basis is mentoring 101! Thanks for the inspirational and encouraging words Tessa.

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