Quiet Moments

Years ago there was a quiet moment during my labor with Journey. Someone (maybe our Doula) urged me to sleep and to enjoy the quiet. My pre-kid self couldn’t imagine the turn of events after she was born. My peace, my quiet and my sleep all seemed to dwindle away with each need and cry of my newborn. Now I find myself yearning for those quiet moments that I took for granted before I had children.

Their demands on me sometimes make me cry for those moments. Literally. HA! My quiet moments now seem like stolen moments as I barricade myself in the shower for much longer than I should or force myself to wake up before dawn while the world is still sleeping. Those quiet moments allow me to recharge my mind and in some cases my soul.

In my more and more infrequent quiet moments I set an alarm for ten minutes. Grab my hot cup of tea, my journal, my meditation book and I sit. I sit and let those ten minutes become mine. I don’t have to answer to anyone, but myself. I enjoy the flavor of my tea. I write what I want. I let myself, be.

There have been times that during those moments I get a flash of inspiration or a new goal comes to mind. Sitting in my quiet moments help me to be present, to be a better friend, and a better Mother. I find myself more open to receive and to give the other moments of my time throughout the day.

I wanted to share this with you because there are also times I feel like I’m the only one fighting for a moment to myself. I feel selfish and ungrateful. My moments to myself were fortfieted once I had children, right? How could I–the mother to two very amazing daughters ever want any time just to myself??

Those feelings of solitude in this fight for quiet moments are just as justified as they are wrong. I know that most caregivers feel this way at sometime (or all the time). What I’m learning is that it’s ok to treat yourself to a long shower or to ask a friend to babysit just so you can go read a book (alone and not about baby animals) in peace and quiet. We need those quiet moments to refuel and refill our hearts so that we can be better Mothers and friends.

I would love to hear when you take advantage of your quiet moment and what do you do that refuels your heart?? Share in the comments! 🙂

~Kalisha

Change

People say the only constant in life is change. Change is normal. Accept it. Embrace it. It’s a cycle of life, but sometimes it knocks you off your feet and carries you into a life you would never have imagined for yourself. That is what happened to me. Now a little over three years after this change I speak of–I’m finally putting my fingers to the keypad and writing. Funny that I say ‘me’ like I was the only one involved in this big life change. In reality it was myself, my ex and our children–not to mention the family who supports us even to this day. This post is definitely long over due. I have wanted to begin writing again, but I’ve felt that my experiences were to painful for me to be able to share openly. I was only inspired to write this after I heard a commercial on the radio speaking about domestic violence month. Realizing that maybe writing this post could help someone else as much as it could help me is the reason I’m typing these words. I still can’t write the details publicly, but if you feel compelled to email me you are more than welcome to.

Three years and three months ago my family was residing in a disguised nightmare. Everything seemed ok. I tried to pretend that everything was ok, but in reality it was all falling apart. The only real peace I get from thinking back on it all is that Journey and Faith were seemingly unaffected by it all. They were fed, nurtured and thrived in a situation that wasn’t ideal. Not a fairy tale at all.

Three years and three months ago the girls and I flew back to Colorado in a flurry of tears, hugs, and heartbreak. I packed three suitcases; one big one full of clothes (for 2 weeks), one small one with some of the girls favorite toys, and one more with miscellaneous items. Without any identification except a black-eye, I boarded us on a Southwest flight back to my native state. Arriving was bitter-sweet. I was happy to be home, but the prideful side of me felt like a failure. Like a dog with its tail between its legs. I had left with so much potential–I was starting a family with a man I loved, we were living in a beautiful house, I was a stay-at-home Mom  enjoying the gorgeous California weather and then in a flash it was gone.

With the help of my best friend I made the decision to stay in Colorado and to not rush back into a life that was not there. I chose to do what was right for me. It’s still hard for me to do that because so much of my early twenties I spent thinking about what was right for everyone else. I pushed my wants and needs to the back burner. Now that I’m in the forefront life is much more confusing. What is it that I wanted? Love, family, stability, happiness? How can I get those things? Will they ever come? I still have trouble realizing that all of those things still have a place, but not in the mold that I have imagined. Coping with this change, I’m not the same young woman who began this blog with her best friend so many years ago. I look back at past posts and feel tears come to my eyes. I’m even more sad that I let this blog suffer in the process. Sharing my journey through motherhood was therapeutic, fun and the perfect way to chronicle the lives of my two daughters.

They are the real reason that I made the decision to leave and not go back. Rebuilding our lives here, alone, has been so very hard. We have had support from a variety of community resources, friends and family.  Unfortunately, we have experienced homelessness and have lived in a domestic violence shelter for two months and in transitional housing for 10 months until we were able to attain an apartment.

Transitioning from a stay-at-home mom to a single working mother has been hard. I have had to play double duty when it comes to household duties and raising the girls. I find myself becoming envious of mothers who can stay home with their children, but don’t want to. It is a dream to be able to spend time with your children. I’m at least lucky enough to work in the same school that the girls attend, but our nights are busy and I feel stretched thin at times. I worry that I’m not giving Journey and Faith all that I could. I feel guilty for wanting time for myself. I feel like a failure (again) for not being able to provide the family I envisioned for my children. They don’t deserve to live in a single parent home. They don’t deserve to only see their Dad 3 months out of the year.

What keeps me moving forward is knowing that they do deserve a healthy loving life.

I deserve a healthy loving life.

This is only the tip of the iceberg! I have so many more thoughts, but I will save them for another time (and this time I won’t wait three years to share them). I welcome comments and I look forward to putting the Mommy back in Mommy Lounge.