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.