A Gift for Mom! 🤍

A mother must keep going even when she’s been on the front lines for months as a health care worker and doesn’t know when relief will come.

Her patients depend on her, and her children can’t wait to see her when she is home.

A mother must keep going even when she’s been trying to homeschool three kids at once and struggling to make sure they all get the attention they need.

Without her help, the schoolwork won’t get done.

A mother must keep going even if she’s balancing working from home with children.

She needs to provide for her family and also make sure her children’s daily needs are met.

A mother must keep going even when she’s a stay-at-home mom and is balancing worry between protecting her children’s health while wondering if she’s keeping them too isolated.

RELATED: This is Not What Being a Stay-at-Home Mom is Like

Without her, the children wouldn’t have anyone to play with all day.

A mother must keep going even if the only time she’s left the house by herself for months has been for grocery trips and doctor’s appointments.

She needs to make sure her family has the food they need, and that she keeps herself healthy.

A mother must keep going even if she sometimes cries to herself in the shower because she misses family and friends she has not been able to see in a long time.

She doesn’t want her children to see how upset she is. She knows their world has changed so much, too.

A mother must keep going even though she is tired of making hard decisions about if school should be done virtually or in person.

RELATED: No, I Don’t Know What We’re Having For Dinner—I’m Just So Tired of Making Decisions

If she doesn’t make the choices, the decisions won’t get made.

A mother must keep going even though she’s made hundreds of meals for her immediate family, but she sometimes gets sad while she’s cooking because she wonders when the day will come when she’ll be back to hosting big family gatherings again.

She needs to keep making healthy meals for her family.

A mother must keep going even though there are extra chores nowadays related to cleaning and sanitizing.

She has to do her best to keep her family safe.

A mother must keep going even if she is worried about so many people—family and friends who are immune-compromised or who live alone.

RELATED: This is the New Mental Load of Motherhood

She has to try to keep these things to herself so as not to worry her kids.

A mother must keep going even if she is not sure when life will be back to normal.

She has to keep fighting to keep her children’s lives as close to normal as possible.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Kimberly Keys

Kimberly is a stay-at-home mom to her precious son who joined our family through the miracle of adoption. She loves exploring parks with him around her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. She previously worked in IT for 12 years. Using her IT experience, she's written for Zapier's Engineering blog and ghost written for clients of Codeless about project management. She is always looking for new writing opportunities!

It’s Time for Us To Start Talking about Menopause

In: Motherhood
Midlife woman selfie

Disclaimer: The information included below is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.   Menopause. Growing up, this was a mysterious subject spoken about in hushed tones. When I approached this transition, I didn’t know what to expect. It began during a dinner with old college friends. Suddenly, I was overcome by heat and nausea. I left early, missing time with friends I rarely see and the beer sampler I ordered. Driving back to the hotel, I realized I had my first major hot flash. This was just the start of unexpected changes. In the following...

Keep Reading

I Didn’t Know You Were My Last Baby When I Had You

In: Baby, Motherhood
Mother holding newborn baby, black and white image

I didn’t know at the time that my last baby would be my last. Those late nights with little sleep. The days that felt so long, yet so full all at the same time. The pain that came with trying to breastfeed and wanting so badly for it to work. Learning who was truly there for you in moments that felt lonely. I didn’t know my body would never feel those first flutters again—or experience the emotional joy of meeting your baby face to face after nine months of waiting. I think that’s why I want so badly to experience...

Keep Reading

The Invisible Pain after IVF Stops

In: Motherhood
Woman holding pregnancy test with head in hands

There is nothing “basic” about stopping IVF and returning to the so-called natural route. There is no guidebook for what comes next. The protocols and procedures that once dictated every step suddenly disappear. The appointments, alarms, and instructions are gone—but the emotions and unknowns remain. There is no protocol for going back to the basics. When we decided to stop IVF and try naturally, I wasn’t prepared for how difficult this next part of our journey would be. During IVF, everything had structure. There were calendars to follow, medications to take at exact times, appointments that filled the weeks. There...

Keep Reading

The Final Out

In: Motherhood
Baseball game as seen through the fence behind home plate

Tonight I watched him step up to the plate for the last time. Play-offs. Single elimination. Down by one. Last inning. Two outs. And the batting lineup just happened to fall to him. Nothing prepares you for that. He took a breath. The weight of an entire lifetime spent in red dirt hinging on this moment. He set his face like flint to that pitcher. The ball left the glove, and he swung. Strike one. He stepped away. Reset. Tapped the base. Then set himself once more. He swung, hit a line drive, and sprinted headlong towards the base, setting...

Keep Reading

These Holy Small Things

In: Faith, Motherhood
Children sewing at machine

My 8-year-old-daughter has recently taken up sewing, to my simultaneous delight and chagrin. My delight because I too love sewing; my chagrin because her enthusiasm often outpaces my own abilities, namely, in the undertaking of tedious projects with no pattern. Take, for example, the cloth doll diaper we designed and stitched up together. Granted, the design was fairly basic to draw up and scale. But the minuscule nature of the work, both for my hands and head, was enough to throw me into existential questioning. It was one of those moments when you wonder how the sum of your life...

Keep Reading

The Pressure to Do Everything “Right” Is Crushing Us

In: Motherhood
Tired and stressed mother sits in hallway with toddler across from her, black and white image

I don’t remember when motherhood started to feel like a test I didn’t study for—but somehow, I’m always convinced I’m failing it. It’s in the quiet moments. Standing in the grocery store aisle, overthinking every label—organic, non-GMO, dye-free, free-range, grass-fed—like I’m one bad decision away from ruining their future…while also trying not to take out a second mortgage just to afford my ever-rising grocery bill. Sitting on the couch, wondering if the show they’re watching or game they’re playing is rotting their brain. Lying in bed at night, replaying the way I handled a meltdown, picking apart every word I...

Keep Reading

Letting You Go Is Still So Hard

In: Grown Children, Motherhood
Walkway toward water at sunset

Nothing really prepares you for the day your child leaves the house. Last September, my husband and I moved our 18-year-old son into his dorm room. Right after that, he was swept away into all things orientation, and we began our 1,000-mile journey back home. Leaving this beautiful human I raised and spent all those years with felt foreign. During our final hug goodbye, despite trying to hold in my pain, I broke out in huge, ugly, guttural tears. Our drive home was a long two days. It took every fiber of my being not to turn around. Returning to...

Keep Reading

Behind Every Smiling Graduate Is a Mother Letting Go

In: Grown Children, Motherhood
Mom and grown son smiling

Every year, millions of American families send their children off to their freshman year of college. Their pictures dot our social media feeds. Images of excited students holding collegiate pennants, maybe wearing a hat or holding up their school’s hand sign with beaming smiles. Their parents post excited words about futures and hopes and dreams. One chapter closing. Another opening. A new beginning. So why am I struggling so much? Why does this feel more like a loss than a gain? Why are my tears always on edge, threatening to spill over each time I think about August and what...

Keep Reading

Life Lessons from My Grown Children

In: Faith, Motherhood
Two women's hands on teacups

“Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.” – Rabindranath Tagore Quietly communing with a loved one in the early morning hours is such an intimate and precious time. Visiting with one’s grown child when all is dark and still is one of life’s purest pleasures. I remember the conversation clearly. My daughter’s husband, small children, and father were all asleep as we whispered and chatted. She and I are both fidgeters by nature, unable to be still for long. This inner restlessness must be remedied, and we are compelled by biology to...

Keep Reading

As a Medical Mom, I Measure Growth Differently

In: Kids, Motherhood
Little girl climbing outside

In most homes, the marks on the wall are a simple celebration of time passing. They are pencil lines that track how many inches a child has gained since their last birthday. But in our home, those marks represent a much deeper, more complex story. When your child lives with multiple hormone deficiencies, growth is never just “natural”—it is a carefully managed medical achievement. However, as any medical mom knows, the story doesn’t end at the top of the head. It begins deep inside, with a tiny gland that isn’t sending the right signals. Having multiple hormone deficiencies is often...

Keep Reading