Earlier this year, my stepmother was rapidly declining in her health and rather abruptly was admitted to a memory care facility. As part of this transition, I flew up to the area of my childhood home, drove north, and worked on cleaning out her house so it could be put on the market.

One thing that I noticed and loved was the variety of hats in her closet. Sun hats of all types, plus fancy hats to go see the horse races. All different colors, shapes, varieties, with and without decoration.

How many hats do we wear as mothers? We so often are not only mother, but wife and partner, daughter, sister, volunteer, friend, homeschooling teacher, perhaps a professional role outside the home as well, a homemaker with all the different jobs that entails, and perhaps also a homesteader or farmer or a creator and artist. So many roles!

When I remember looking at the hats scattered across the floor, it made me think how we pull out a hat for a specific event the way we pull out a specific role in our day. I have a practice treating new mothers in both pelvic floor health and in lactation and many new mothers tell me the sheer number of roles feels overwhelming. They are trying to mother, be a wife, be a homemaker, work outside the home and be productive at work in the same way they were before they had children….and perhaps in the process forgetting or not having time for the most important role: that of themself.

Taking care of ourselves in whatever way that looks like to us is so important. Some mothers are easily overstimulated with noise or the number of children talking to them at once. Some mothers are overwhelmed with the idea of working and being productive in an outside job all day and coming home to be “on” to a job within the home.

What ways have you found to cope with overwhelm in different roles or what ways have you found to take care of yourself? You can only be so much to so many. Be easy with yourself.

Blessings,

Carrie