I wrote a special poem that I hope will make you feel seen. This one is dedicated to all moms, but especially single moms, who must play the role of both mom and dad. May these words hold your heart and offer help for single moms everywhere.
I hope you all have some tissues as I know I needed some as I wrote this . . .
A Letter to the Mama Who Feels Invisible:
Dear Mama,
I see you.
I see you wake up to stillness as you move seamlessly throughout the house getting things ready. You make breakfast and pack lunches, remembering everyone’s favorite snacks and quirks. You gather schoolbags and wake up children, ushering them throughout their routine. You give hugs, wipe noses, find shoes, and clean up messes before you’ve had a moment to touch your cup of coffee or wash your face.
I see you.
Your kids are older, but their hearts are just as tender. Unlike the earlier years, you are unable to kiss away their pain or wash it away with the running of bath water. You bite your lips as you resist the urge to tell them what to do. Instead, you stay silent and allow them to vent about their fights with their friends, their school project, their latest crush. You witness the daily frustration they feel as their minds try to catch up to their more adult-like bodies. I see you floating around inside your mind, trying to remember where all the time went and wondering if you did enough. You feel like the best years of your life have passed you by, and you try to adjust to no longer being the center stage of your children’s lives as they shut their doors and chat with friends.
I see you.
You still put everyone else’s needs before your own. You wonder if your kids are dressed warmly enough and if they are getting enough sleep. You savor the moments when they stop by to do a load of laundry or get a home cooked meal. You ask them to text or call every time they get back from wherever they are going. And you hold your breath until you know they are safe inside the covers of their beds.
I see you.
In every stage, season, and heartbeat of life, you are the invisible string that pulls them all together. You are the voice of reason, the arms that hold them tightly, the one that makes them feel safe while also making them feel little again. You are the constant in every storm, every heartache, every obstacle. You are home.
And they may not always say it or even realize it, but every moment of love was because of you. They may not recall every night you rocked them to sleep or how you beamed with pride as you cheered for them, but they know they were loved. They know they are loved. They carry that knowledge deep within them. It runs within their veins and beats within their hearts.
Love is interwoven within you, Mama. You are seen. You are loved, so very loved.
I know you often feel invisible and like the world is moving around while you stay idle, but you are the gravity that allows them to orbit. The love you give is what allows them to keep moving and keep going. It is the love that they will carry with them and give to their own kids one day.
I see you, and you are doing more than you will ever know.
-From the heart of a mother to another mother or grandmother
