Baby Showers & 10th Birthday Parties: Tablescape with food and potted mini succulents.

One only needs to turn on the news to recognize that life is full of atrocities, problems and traumatic happenings. We could easily soak in the words of the angriest rant of the latest news cycle and forget to help plant seeds for the future. Seeds that will potentially and eventually grow into sprouts that will reach as high as they can to provide shade, bloom and harvest for ourselves and those who come ahead of us.

Milestones are these seeds of opportunity.

They allow us to take a moment, look at how far we have come, and also create a pause for connection to the hope and promise of what may come after.

This year, I decided to put myself back into reclaiming milestones as memories and investments in the future.

Amythest birthday cake made by an Auntie.

Reaching the tenth year of mothering has provided me with a decade of intensified personal growth and healing. Each year she lives is a year I am challenged to reparent and mother myself in a new way, while also witnessing the incredible individuality and journey of another spirit that is separate from me, yet made possible by me. Taking the mindful time to throw her a birthday party and delve into her interests is an honour as well as an investment in my own journey as a mother and woman. To practice witnessing her is to practice witnessing myself.

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It’s safe to say I was zero percent prepared for my long-distance best friend to announce she was pregnant. Her child-free, independent life, which I lived vicariously through, had been a mainstay throughout my ten-year journey as a parent. I had never considered that it might be my turn to follow along on her journey, waving my proverbial pom-poms as she evolved and gave birth to a new life and a new era of herself.

Celebrating these special moments was like pulling an ace card out of my sleeve and claiming one celebratory way to hold on to hope for the future, despite the turmoil that can threaten to overtake.

Ace of Hearts.

Zoë Wing Zhe Lai - Two Years Old.

Coming alongside this little spirit to raise her into her place in this world has created an evolution in us.  Finding more purpose, meaning and intention in the 'dailys'.  Letting go of the unnecessary, making time for what creates a whole, healthy and functioning family, and growing deeper in a sense of individuality within all of that.

Two years of life has uncovered her independent nature.  There is nothing more stunning than seeing a little woman assert herself and her discernment of her own readiness astounds us.  When she has decided she is ready to learn a new skill, word or game, nothing will stop her.  She has also the patience to wait for her own spirit and body to catch up.  She will not be rushed or pushed into anything.

Peanut Butter Cupcake Cones - Family Tradition

Two years of solidifying our little family and learning about each other.  Quiet moments before the days end, all of us in the bed, even the cat, snuggled in and we inhale that scent of togetherness.

Two years of uncovering her incredible personhood.  

Thankful for this little spirit full of life, for her health, her nature, her ups and her downs.  Every year with her is a blessing.