Dear Mom

It was the day I realized just how alike we are. The day my heart expanded to make room for so much more love and as I saw my daughter for the first time, I also saw my mother, really saw her, for the first time as well.

They say you don’t really know what it’s like until you have kids and although completely cliche’, there aren’t too many truer words for it. While most birth stories don’t go according to plan, this one was no different. It was early, four weeks early to be exact, when the appointment happened that changed our lives. It was three weeks before we’d planned to have her, the little girl that made me a mama, in our arms when we became a family. And it was the moment, when through the fog of too many medications and streams of tears for my sweet baby, I could actually see so clearly.

Becoming a mother makes you different. No longer did I see my mom as just my mom, who of course loves me and is always there for me when I need her, but rather I felt that irregular heartbeat of a mother, the heartbeat that tunes into the very rhythm of her children and knew that she felt it too. Not only are you the same person that can juggle a million plates, but now you’re simultaneously willing to drop any one of them if it’s for the benefit of your child. 

I saw all of the moments through life with my mom, the ones that now I could actually feel for my own little one. With my mother on one side of me, my husband on the other, both holding my legs because the glorious medications that were allowing me to safely deliver my baby girl also caused me to lose muscle control, she helped usher not only a new life into this world, her granddaughter, but also a new mama. I was different. I was changed. I’d joined the club that so many millions of women before be have joined without even realizing it. The unwritten rules are basically made up of daily self-sacrifice, given without hesitation or regret. I was now beginning my journey of surrendering to motherhood, of understanding of the little things, like giving up the food on your own plate because your little one is still hungry. I knew just what it meant to be covered in vomit (sometimes projectile and an array of other bodily fluids), but instead of being upset by the circumstance, your heart breaks for your baby to feel better. In that moment, I was inaugurated into the club of women who make the choice daily with their bodies, space, time, their whole lives just to gift the best of themselves to their children. It was through those moments that I realized just how much my mother felt for me.

So yeah, it was just one day… the day I realized I was so much more like my own mama that I thought. 

Be a part of #DearMom! 

We can admit it, most of us don’t tell our moms how important she is as much as we should.  But the truth is, she can never hear it enough. So, Lands’ End is giving us all the chance to do just that, and I’m excited to share my #DearMom moment with you all today.

• Show mom how much you care –  Now through May 6th share your Mother’s Day message, photo or video on Instagram and/or Twitter using #dearmom, #contest and #mylandsend for a daily chance to win a $100 Lands’ End Gift Card.
  • Each day, @LandsEndPR will post a unique prompt or question asking for a specific message, or photo, or video to be posted for a chance to win. So head on over and follow @LandsEnd and @LandsEndPR.
• Spend quality time with mom – Enter for a chance to win a five-day, trip for you and your mom, to the luxurious Sonesta Fort Lauderdale Beach hotel. Simply fill out the form at landsend.com/dearmom through May 4th.

I’m excited to be a part of this #DearMom movement and just think back and relive a time… one of those “best moments” with mom. This moment was one that changed me. I’d LOVE to hear yours! What was the “best day” you had with your mom? Tell us for a chance to win a $100 Lands’ End GC & be sure to tag #DearMom, #Contest, #MyLandsEnd!

XO