Hey there! I’m Mikala—a family doctor, wife, mother of 5, well-being advocate, and author of the books Ordinary on Purpose and Everything I Wish I Could Tell You About Midlife. Each month my writing reaches millions of women, but I am thrilled to be connecting with YOU. I’m truly grateful to have you here!
All tagged #ilovewatchingthemgrow
Motherhood is exhausting and scary and filled to the brim with beautiful, heart-stopping, tear-jerking, breathtaking moments. And you get to feel every single emotion!
I’m realizing now as my kids grow up into the unique people they are meant to be, they also grow a little bit AWAY from me. I’m not their center but orbiting somewhere in the periphery. And that’s okay. That’s where I’m SUPPOSED to be. Motherhood isn’t the only thing about me!
But I don’t want to miss the beauty of watching my child become exactly who they were meant to be!
#7: Every once in a while, you will look over at your teenager and see the toddler version of him right there in the expression on his face. It will take your breath away.
These days, hugs are few and far between. Usually given with a limp arm. Or the ‘lean in’ with no arms at all. It’s lonely, sometimes. But we have to remember…we’re not alone.
No one told me just how amazing it is to watch this little person you met at his very first breath GROW UP—even way up over your own head—and I want you to know. Raising teens is hard, but it is so good, too! I promise.
It is perfectly okay to admit this change is hard on my momma heart. It’s okay that it feels necessary to grieve.
He’s practically grown. And yet, he’s the same boy I’ve always known.
That little boy you always knew is right there…and somehow this beautiful new person is emerging too.
Keeping track of the ordinary little details of this family is the greatest privilege of my life. And if the tiny details of childhood matter to them, then they matter so much to me because that’s how they feel secure and loved.
Today I feel sad. Maybe it’s because I took my youngest to kindergarten round-up and there are only a few more months until ALL my kids will be in school.
It turns out, no one’s talking about the REAL stuff. The hardest stuff.
There will come a day when you sit talking and laughing with your BABY beside you on the couch and realize he is becoming a confident young man right before your eyes!!
One day you’ll understand why you spent years missing the game and still trying to create a fun party.
Every year, my kids come home for break with excitement shining in their eyes as they put clumsily wrapped packages under the tree labeled TO: Mom.
Who else would know to look for a little thumbs up from the soccer field?? After all, he didn’t score. But his foot touched the ball and he’d like to celebrate all the same. So, I do!!
These little moments are just another of the silver linings of the sometimes difficult teenage years.
This was the Last Game. I tried hard not to clamp my fist around this realization. I tried hard to store it all away.
My house is a mess, we have an ant problem in the kitchen, and I can’t even talk about the laundry.
