“I Did This for Me” – On Motherhood, Dreams, and Bravery
Inside: Inspiration to do something for yourself as a mother and chase your own dreams. This post contains affiliate links.
A couple of months ago I was on the phone with my Grandma. I had sent her a copy of my book When Mommy Grows Up and she called to say thank you.
In that conversation, she said something that really stuck with me.
“I did it for myself.”
You see, as Grandma read the book, she saw a bit of herself in this story about managing motherhood and dreams.
Grandma raised eight children. That meant a lot of spaghetti cooking, and milk buying, and child counting as they piled into the station wagon to go to church. It also meant that Grandma didn’t have a lot of time for something that was purely hers.
Let’s face it, she barely had time to sit down!
This was also a different time, and Grandma’s father had discouraged her from higher education since she planned to marry and have children. She clearly recalled her high school teachers commenting on her potential and wondering to herself where she could take it.
But years later, when the youngest two kids were in high school and six others were continuing their education in colleges and trade schools, Grandma decided she was going to get her degree.
I had heard this story before. She was rightfully very proud of the accomplishment. But there was another piece she shared with me during that phone call.
One day as Grandma poured over her books in the kitchen, one of her sons asked her “Mom, what are you working so hard for?”
Her response: “I’m doing this for me.”
She gave so much to her family over the years and continued to throughout her life. But college, and the Associate’s Degree she earned, that was for her.
This was one of the last conversations I had with my Grandma. She passed away on September 3 and my family is now remembering her and honoring her memory.
Maybe you could honor her too by doing something for you.
- Chase a dream that you’ve been putting off.
- Learn something new.
- Put yourself out there.
- Take a much-needed break.
- Make a change.
- Make yourself proud.
I think she’d like that a lot.
