We Are Moms

Six pregnancies.

Two living children.

One neonatal death.

One interstitial ectopic pregnancy.

Two miscarriages.

Two failed IVF cycles.

One failed IVF converted to IUI.

It’s surreal for me to reflect on those years.

I am grateful for all that we have.

I am thankful for what we’ve learned on our journey to build our family.

No two infertility and loss experiences are the same.

Likewise, no two lives are the same.

So many different paths to motherhood.

So many circumstances make us family.

We live.

We learn.

We hope.

We pray.

We fail.

We try again.

We grow.

We believe.

We get to know ourselves better and what we can handle.

We figure out if and when it makes sense for us to start again.

And we decide when we are done.

Or sometimes, that is decided for us.

No, we don’t always get to choose how things play out.

We can choose our attitude.

We can make the best of every situation we find ourselves in.

We are proud of our children.

And we can be proud of ourselves.

We are moms.

Biological and adoptive.

Literally and figuratively.

Single, Married, or Widowed.

Young and old.

Bereaved and Blessed.

We come from different faith traditions and cultural backgrounds.

And yet, we have so much in common.

We never stop loving our children.

No matter how long they are with us, in our homes and in this world.

We raise and we shape the next generation.

We make our world a better place.

We are moms.

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A friend shared this on Facebook today. What started as an intro into posting the link on my social media channels turned into my first blog entry in over two months.

There has been a lot of loss this week, in my local community (a fireman who died on the job, leaving his wife and three children), in my college sorority sisterhood (one of my friends/old roommate’s 10 year old son died unexpectedly), and in my hometown (one of my friend’s nephews died). My heartaches for everyone grieving and trying to find comfort and hope during this holiday season, especially my fellow moms.

Until next time, peace be with you.