coffee

Mornings often come quickly in this house. In fact, there are often pre-morning greetings throughout the night from my son reminding me that morning is approaching. Most of the time I can appreciate those interruptions in my sleep. Most of the time.

Being a Mother is the greatest joy. It is also the biggest, most intensive and exhausting job. The delicate combination of my age mixed with 16 months of reduced sleep no longer allows me to express that joy in ways I once did...

Over the years of instructing postnatal exercise classes, many women have heard me say that the effort and energy they have to expend in the classes may depend upon how much sleep they've had in the previous few days. It can be discouraging when the desire a Woman has to be healthy, fit and strong is impacted by the very real demands placed upon her by her children. Some days we can tackle life with gusto and some days we can't. 

Strength and wellness is not only measured by our physical condition, but more importantly, it has to do with our ability to navigate the mental and emotional demands placed upon us as we raise our small children. Admitting to frustration and fatigue doesn't make a woman ungrateful or indulgent, I think it takes great courage!

A while back the mother of a friend emailed me the link to "The Invisible Mom-Building Cathedrals" 

‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: ‘To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’