Mum's the Word: What It Means to Me to be a Mother

By Jolène Emery

My world has undergone tremendous, monumental earth-shaking changes since having my little Lily; mainly, my attention shifted from what I saw in the mirror to another being.

My deepest awareness of what it means to be a mother is to provide non-judgmental love and support to another human being, allowing their individuality to shine, encouraging them to find strength and knowingness in who they are. This, I believed would only come from dad and I, but Lily has taught me that she too provides this. Where I believed I was teaching Lily to grow, she, in truth has taught me to grow. There is an infinite circle of expansion in our relationship. She teaches me, as long as I remain open, to see beyond that which I know, to reach inside of myself and pull out all that I am.

Being a mother to Lily has taught me that there is more to me, more to love, more to trust, more to everything. She supports and encourages me and definitely allows me to be me.

Above all, Lily continues to remind me to play, to explore, and to dance around all that life has to offer.

Since the time of writing, I have become the proud mother of another deliciously amazing and brilliant little girl named Hazel. How exciting! My world is brimming with endless opportunity to explore the amazingness of another!

Jolène Emery is a professional children's entertainer and director of JoJoFun.