By Joanna Weeks 
Becoming a mother has a way of bringing old wounds back to the surface, even ones you believed had healed.
I never imagined grief would surface so strongly in my motherhood journey. I thought it was something you carried silently, something that faded with time. But becoming a mother felt like my loss rising to its feet and saying, I’m still here
There are moments when I reach for my phone to call my mom, only to be met with the reminder that I can’t. I want to ask her if what I’m feeling is normal, if the exhaustion softens, if the worry ever quiets. I want to hear her voice reminding me I’m doing okay, even when I don’t feel like I am.
Motherhood has a way of making you feel what’s missing most on the days you need your mom.
I grieve the conversations we’ll never have—about sleepless nights, first words, and the ache of loving someone so deeply. I grieve that my children won’t know her laugh or the warmth of her embrace. And some days, I grieve the version of me who never imagined navigating this without her.
Grief doesn’t only take from us—it also shows us what matters.
Losing my mom taught me to be present. I now see how quickly moments become memories and how fragile time is. I hold my children tighter, knowing how precious this season is—even on the hard days.
It taught me to be kinder, to say “I love you” without hesitation, and to show up even when I’m tired. Because love doesn’t disappear when someone is gone—it stays with us, shaping who we become.
Some days, grief presses down on me, a quiet weight I carry while folding laundry or rocking a baby in the dark. Yet there are other days when my mother’s presence feels vividly reflected in the patience I strive to show, the warmth I hope my children experience, and the home I am shaping with thoughtfulness and love.
Even without her here, I lean on the lessons she taught me as I raise my own.
If you’re carrying grief through motherhood, remember this: you are not broken, and you are not failing. You are navigating a profound and complicated journey—loving with all your heart while feeling the ache of loss alongside it.
Feeling grief doesn’t mean you can’t move forward; it means your love was whole.
If your mother is no longer here, you are still never mothering alone. She lives in you—through your instincts, your gentle care, and the ways you show up for your children, even on the days you feel uncertain.
Through the ache, we find our way to become the mothers we once needed. And in that journey, love carries on—softly, steadfastly, and beautifully.
by Amber Watson 
