My raw and real musings on motherhood...and our limited edition Mother’s Day offering
Becca Crawford
Motherhood.
The most rewarding yet difficult endeavour I have ever embarked upon. My children bring me endless wonderment coupled with exasperation (and which dose is greater depends on the day). I have never experienced a love so pure, intense and unconditional as the love I have for my children. Yet motherhood is by far a vocation that is more painful than anything I have ever experienced. It makes my 2 honours degrees (in law and commerce), a university medal, and the running of my 4 businesses look like absolute child’s play in contrast to the daily struggle of parenting 2 children without my fiery Greek-Cypriot temper getting the better of me. As a close friend often muses “Hell hath no fury like Cypriot scorn”. Just when I think it gets easier they enter a new stage of growth and I’m back to feeling like a novice. Most of the time I feel like I am failing miserably, undeserving of the 2 beautiful souls that I have been entrusted with for such a fleeting amount of time. Guilt, shame and incompetence often riddle me. And the more I talk to other mothers (no matter how zen or perfect they appear, or how many parenting books, courses or programs they have completed) the more I realise that I am not alone. What is portrayed on social media is only one teeny part of the picture.
Don’t ever be fooled to think that it’s all roses, butterflies and unicorns for any given mother as you don’t really know what she’s going through or what goes on behind the scenes. So I’m here to tell you that no mother is perfect, that whatever you’re feeling I guarantee that we have all felt it, and that we are all doing our best to raise children without the village they have evolved to be raised in. And that mismatch in itself brings a myriad of issues.
While the impact mothers have on their children etches deep and can last generations (for better or for worse) the saving grace is that our children are incredibly forgiving and resilient, and each day is a new start with new intentions.
The rapid demise of my own mother to dementia over the past few years has given me great cause to stop and ponder my relationship with her and all the sacrifices she made as a mother which I only started to appreciate when I became a mother myself. To see one of the most capable, competent, and driven women I have ever met be reduced to a person devoid of mental and physical faculties, is painful beyond words. When there is nothing left to say all that can be said is “I’m sorry, and I love you”.
As mothers, we not only bring forth life, we feed, nurture, care, support, love and protect with all our hearts. Yes motherhood involves pain and suffering (often from the first trimester). But it also involves wonder and joy. And let’s not forget that as we celebrate our special day in May. Tonight my son asked me “Mum, why did you have children?” My response: “To grow as a person…. To love and to be loved in returned, to teach you what I know and to learn from you in return.” Indeed, my children are my greatest teachers, my shiny mirrors reflecting back everything I dislike in myself and exquisitely pressing my buttons in a way that only they know how to press. They will keep pressing and pushing until I show up as the best possible version of myself – happy, confident, capable, fair, supportive, honest, accessible, with clear boundaries. If they don’t feel I’m stepping up in any one of these areas, they will poke and prod (“act out”) until I step up. As my children grow and mature, I feel it’s an opportunity for me to grow and mature as a person. There are many lessons to embrace, as every mother knows.
“Mothers have the power not only to rock the cradle but to rock the world””
So I dedicate this newsletter to my mother, and to mothers everywhere, who have done and who are doing so much for their children. I see you coming into my Broth Bar and to my classes and talks, driven by a desire to provide the best possible start to your childrens’ lives. It warms my heart to think that the next generation of children that we are raising will be more robust, resilient, taller, smarter and beautiful than our generation, due to our hard work. And for that we can pat ourselves on the back!
Limited Edition: Organic Choc-Coated Macadamias for Mamas
To celebrate, acknowledge and honour the mothers in our lives and the incredible role they play, we have crafted as a Mother’s Day special limited edition, our signature activated macadamia nuts smothered in our signature raw dark chocolate: organic choc coated maccas for mamas! Simply superb!
Who doesn’t love that winning combo!? I hope you enjoy them as much as we have enjoyed bringing them back for sale to you as a Mothers’ Day limited edition. Throw into a larger hamper, or simply gift as a stand alone special treat. These are sure to please the yummiest/tiredest/grumpiest/happiest of mummies – for we are all these things rolled into one plus more ;-)
Sold exclusively at Broth Bar & Larder. To organise a courier to any area within metropolitan Sydney or Wollongong simply call Broth Bar & Larder on 0421 786 009. Limited quantities available, so get in quick to avoid disappointment!