By Her View From Home 
In my early 20s, I thought all I ever wanted or needed was a man to love and who loved me back. We could ride off into the sunset and build our beautiful family together. The white picket fence dream. I met a man when I was twenty-one that I fell head over heels in love with. I shaped my whole life around him and our future together. We had bumps like anyone at first, but after a while troubling red flags began to appear. I ignored them, blinded by my love for this man. I isolated myself from friends and family because I felt that he was my everything. I put him first always and wished only to be with him and grow our lives together.
At 28, I had our first child. To say this changed me would be the understatement of the year. I matured so much in that first year of motherhood, became more confident, more assured of what I wanted in life and what my priorities were. I still wanted the white picket fence dream with the man I loved but suddenly my child was there and my new priority. I loved my child more than I ever thought it was possible to love another human being. I truly felt we were living the dream.
Five years later, our second child would be born, and our family would be complete. I was over the moon in love with my children and with our life. I adored my babies and adored being a mother of two. Those red flags, however, had not gone away from me turning a blind eye to them. Instead, with the birth of our children, they only grew until I could no longer ignore them. I isolated further as my marriage deteriorated. Some of the darkest, most difficult years of my life ensued, and I found myself a divorced single mom of two.
Then a surprising, unexpected thing happened. The women in my life rescued me. They provided the friendly ears I so needed, the shoulders to cry on, the validation that I was doing the right thing, the help with my children, the distraction with fun get-togethers, the strength I needed when I was weak, and the love my children and I needed so desperately. These women, so many I had taken for granted for so long, came through in mine and my children’s hour of need in a spectacular fashion. I can never repay them for what they’ve done for me and I know they would not want repayment. I can promise to be there for them in the same way as they were for me as we navigate the tumultuous waters of life.
My priorities in life look different as I near 40. Instead of the knight in shining armor or the white picket fence, I want women who love and support me and my children just as I love and support them and theirs. Something I didn’t understand in my 20s is how much I needed the support and friendship of other women. How much it would help me as I dealt with changes in my life. How much relief it would give me to know I was not alone in some of my struggles. That other women were going through the same and we could lean on each other through it. I see it jokingly called the “mom tribe” on social media, but I think it should really encompass more than just women who are similar to you. My “tribe” includes single women with no children, moms my age, retired women with grandchildren, married women, and single moms. They are in various seasons of life, but no matter where we all are or what we are experiencing, we remain each other’s lifelines. This community of women has been indispensable to me, and I am so very blessed to have it.
by Whitney Fleming 
by Leanne Willen 
by Kelli Bachara 
by Holly Lemons 
by Linda Tang 
by Carolyn Lebanowski 
