A Gift for Mom! 🤍

Today, my husband and I woke up in the dark, much before sunrise. It was early morning, the sound from the baby monitor loud and clear for waking both of us up. We smiled through our sleepy eyes. I would have loved to sleep in, but wouldn’t miss this time with the kids, before the morning rush kicks in, for anything in the world.

His smile said he wouldn’t miss it either and for that reason, I fell in love, just like every day.

Today, I had a preschooler shouting from the bathroom for more toilet paper and a toddler tucking at my jeans. My husband was rushing out the door to catch the morning bus to work. He turned around to look at me and waved a goodbye with a slight movement with his wrist, clutching his phone. In that moment of chaos, that wave meant more than a kiss and for that reason, I fell in love, just like every day.

Today, the kids slept after a hard evening filled with tantrums, dinner, bath, tears, stories, and hugs. When the house was quiet, my husband and I could finally acknowledge each other after the whole day. We had time to look at each other, and even finish a conversation. Instead, we lazily raised our eyebrows, nodded our heads and exchanged some “hmm” and that was enough.

We both needed our time and we both were comfortable in each other’s silence and for that reason, I fell in love, just like every day.

Today, I coughed every now and then. I probably didn’t even realize it as I was busy taking care of a sick child myself. My husband was dropping and picking the other kid up from swimming lessons, music classes, and even birthday parties. He had added another chore to his list of to-do things, and that was to pick up some cough medicine from the local pharmacy. As I found exactly what I needed on the kitchen table, without realizing that I even needed it, we exchanged glances and my eyes twinkled. He knew that that was my “thank you” and for that reason, I fell in love, just like every day.

Today, my little girl spoke to her grandmother over the phone. She updated her with all that was happening in the house and at daycare. I was amazed to hear how she could carry on a conversation almost like an adult, and how much she took notice of all the things that were happening around her. As I turned to look at my husband, he looked at me at the exact same moment. We smiled and silently exchanged our mutual feeling of pride for our not-so-little one. He did not let her see him smile as we didn’t want to make her self-conscious and for that reason, I fell in love, just like every day.

Today, we fought over a petty issue.

We disagreed, raised our voices, and walked away in opposite directions. We had little ones to be tended to, food to be cooked, a unicorn hat to be bought, bins to be emptied, laundry to be folded, songs to be sung, stories to be read, so much to be heard, and so many curious questions to be answered. And we did just that, without letting any of the arguments come in the way. We separated “family” from “us” and worked as a team and for that reason, I fell in love, just like every day.

Tomorrow will be another day, better or worse, que sera sera.

But I can’t wait to get up, face the chaos, and fall head over heels in love once again.

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!

Chandni Bansal

Chandni Bansal is a freelance writer living in Sydney, Australia and is all about the little voice inside of her talking about love, life and family. Her passion is to write and share stories through life experiences, relationships, motherhood, and lessons learnt along the way as she goes through this busy, funny, imperfect life with her husband and two little angels. More on her blog, Little Voice of Love at https://littlevoiceoflove.com/

The Hardest Part of Divorce Is Being Away from My Kids

In: Living, Marriage, Motherhood
Woman in driver's seat

I’ve written several times about how divorce has allowed me to find myself again, and how that version is even better than the one I was before I was married. All of that is still true. I am happier than I’ve ever been. More confident and sure of myself. I understand my emotions and how to handle myself when things get tough or scary. I am more grounded and calm than I’ve ever been. Truly, I have come out on top. I’ve received comments about how happy I look, how I’m “living my best life with kids only half the...

Keep Reading

Dear Daddy, I Wish You Could See Yourself As We Do

In: Living, Marriage
father with two young children

The side of my husband who is hardest on himself usually shows up late at night. The house is quiet, the kids are finally asleep, and the day has done what it always does—taken everything it could from both of us. That’s usually when it comes out. The voice in his head that tells him he’s not doing enough as a father. Not present enough. Not patient enough. Not good enough. He doesn’t say it lightly. He says it like someone confessing a truth he wishes wasn’t true. Like he’s already measured himself against some invisible standard of fatherhood and...

Keep Reading

To the Woman Who Was Betrayed

In: Living, Marriage
Woman looking off to the fog

He promised you a lifetime, a family, safety, and security. You carried life and brought it into this world for him. Even still, in the trenches of postpartum, he betrayed you. It was never your fault. This is something I’ve fought to tell myself every single day since the day I discovered my marriage was never meant to last. Because the truth is, betrayal is never about you; it’s about them, and the character flaws deep within they’d rather bury than face. He watched as you fought for your life after delivery while your tiny, premature newborn spent the first...

Keep Reading

10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before My Marriage Ended

In: Marriage
Divorce concept

I’m a year and a half into my still-husband filing for a divorce I didn’t see coming (but probably should have), and I’m here to say: hindsight doesn’t yield perfect vision, but it does bring clarity. While that clarity might not always make perfect sense, it does make processing it all a bit more tangible. Here are 10 things I wish I knew before my marriage ended–abruptly and unilaterally. Effort should feel mutual, not one-sided and minimal. The handmade birthday weekend itineraries year after year, the endless putting-him-on-a-pedestal, the desperate asks to go out on actual dates, the late-night research...

Keep Reading

Love Is Saying “I’m Still Here”

In: Marriage
Smiling couple in selfie

Some days don’t feel romantic at all. They feel like alarms going off too early, coffee gone cold, kids who need everything at once, and a to-do list that keeps growing no matter how much you check off. They feel like passing each other in the kitchen with tired eyes and half-finished sentences. They feel like wondering how it’s only Tuesday. And yet, somewhere in the middle of all that, there’s this quiet, steady thing holding it together. Not fireworks. Not big, sweeping moments. Just a simple, consistent choice. We’re still in this. Together. Marriage, at its core, isn’t built...

Keep Reading

No One Plans to Wear the “Scarlet Letter” of Divorce

In: Living, Marriage
Couple with backs to each other

Divorce often feels like the scarlet letter no one talks about. Some in our generation may call it “trendy”—particularly as women have become more independent and empowered—but whether it’s socially acceptable or not, it is still a label no woman enters marriage expecting to wear. Women are often self-sacrificing—sometimes to a fault. We give and give until our souls feel nearly drained. And in marriages marked by abuse, substance abuse, infidelity, inconsistency, or dishonesty, we still convince ourselves that if we just give a little more, love a little harder, try a little longer, something will change. Divorce is not...

Keep Reading

I Still Can’t Believe You’re Mine

In: Marriage
Man and woman dressed up dancing

I still can’t believe you’re mine. Lately, I’ve found myself reflecting on how far we’ve come—two babies, multiple moves, and the weight of a world that hasn’t always been kind. There were seasons when things felt uncertain. Seasons when growth hurt. Seasons when staying required more strength than leaving ever would have. I know not everyone believed we would make it this far. But it was always you. God was leading me to you long before I understood it. In ways I couldn’t see at the time, He was writing a story bigger than my fears, bigger than my doubts,...

Keep Reading

True Love Is Built In the Moments No One Sees

In: Marriage
Two pinkies hooked with wedding rings

There is nothing simple about raising a medically complex child. We carry emergency plans the way others carry wallets. Med lists are memorized. Hospital routes are second nature. We measure time in seizures, appointments, medication schedules, and recovery windows. Early Monday morning, after our 10-year-old autistic son was sedated for stitches following a seizure fall, he was sick. My husband held him upright while he vomited. I grabbed towels, trying to catch what I could. We moved in sync—no discussion, no drama, just instinct and practice. And I thought about our marriage. It isn’t glitz and glamour. It’s not candlelit...

Keep Reading

We Fall In Love a Million Times

In: Marriage
Man kissing woman on forehead

Recently, I read a picture book to my children titled Would I Trade My Parents? The book is about a little boy who wishes he could exchange his parents for his friends’ parents. But in the end, he remembers all the amazing things his parents do for him and realizes he wouldn’t trade them after all. He knows they’re the best. After reading this book, my immediate thought was there should be a book for couples called Would I Trade My Partner? Because while we can’t trade our children (or our parents), we most certainly can trade our spouses if we really...

Keep Reading

As a Newly-Single Mom, I’m Learning How To Parent Alone

In: Marriage, Motherhood
Mother with little girl on piggyback walking down road

I have four beautiful children. Each of them is unique, full of purpose, and wonderfully made by God. Being their mom is my greatest joy and my biggest challenge. As a newly single mom, the normal things of adolescence I used to have help governing are now much more difficult to navigate. I constantly worry my unhealed trauma is going to spill out onto my kids and mess them up. Who’s with me? I have teenage daughters. That fact in and of itself is frightening. It is so easy to let them down. I try to meet them where they...

Keep Reading