some thoughts on young mothers

Thank you for all the emails, and I’m so sorry I haven’t had time to respond to them all.   I have returned rather somberly from my cousin’s funeral in Northern VA, where I grew up.   She got the stomach flu and we don’t know why she died.   We are all devastated by the loss of this young mother of three  young sons (plus another one who died), and watching them sobbing right before her casket was closed is very possibly the most tragic and devastating thing I have ever seen in my life.   Little boys’ hearts breaking and nothing we could do about it.

Shawnie  comes from a wonderful family, and her parents were my “other parents” growing up.   It was a sweet experience to celebrate the life of Shawnie Romney Tull and I am  privileged that  I knew her.

So I have been more reflective than ever on the power of a young mother, because very frankly that was a more tragic funeral than even the funerals of small children I have attended.   Because a young mother is SO DESPERATELY NEEDED.   Mothers change the world.   They control more than they realize.

It’s a conversation I have with my business partner over and over . . . we discuss the needs of everyone who reads GreenSmoothieGirl.com.   And we try to figure ways that everyone is included, because of course I care very much about the health of everyone–the single people, the teenagers, the elderly–I get emails from all these demographics and more.

But as I try to decide where to spend my time in content development, though, my soft spot is always for the  moms.   I very much want to support them.   If you are one, please take care of yourself first.   Remember that on the plane, you can’t put the oxygen mask on your kids until you have your own on.   Remember that you’re  not helping anyone by neglecting your own mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.   Remember that children learn more by example than anything else.

If you have young mothers in your life, not just this Sunday but today, too, give them a hug and tell them that the work they do is important.   That its rewards aren’t always obvious, but they are in fact extraordinary.   Give them  some extra  love.   A friend said to me yesterday, “Everyone should go to a funeral every six months.   That’s how you remember what’s important, and what kind of person you want to be.”

I totally agree.

Posted in: 12 Steps To Whole Food, Mind/Body Connection, Relationships