The Mommy Club

When I first started telling people that I was pregnant, I remember a friend telling me, "Welcome to the Mommy Club!"

Love this little guy for making me a Mommy

I thought this was strange.  I mean, really, a club where the only commonality is the fact that you have managed to pro-create?  What would I really have in common with millions of women?

But as I have been fully initiated into this club with the birth of my son, I have come to find that this is a real life club.  We don't have fancy name badges, t-shirts or a pithy slogan, but it is an exclusive club nonetheless.  There is no secret handshake, although there are many knowing glances exchanged.  Knowing glances that communicate, "I've been there, I can empathize."

I have come to depend on this sorority-of-sorts.  I'm quick to ask for advice, and quick to give it when someone asks.  There's a camaraderie that exists between people who have walked in your shoes, or at least shoes that are similar.  There's comfort in the knowledge that so many others have blazed the trails ahead of you.  I pull from their strength and courage, and share my own with those behind me.  I encourage other mothers to do the same.

I think it is so important to have a mommy support group.  Whether it is phone calls across the continent, or a neighborhood Mom and me group, we all have those moments when our world seems too big and we seem too small and we need someone to push us through those last few hours of the day.

Something about physically birthing another human being has made me feel so empowered as a woman.  Even my running has improved, because I know what my body is capable of.  It's simply amazing to me how much change a woman's body goes through in preparation for labor and delivery, and everything (almost) goes back to normal.  

Let this be an encouragement for us women to stick together.  Shame on me for ever judging another woman or mother.  My hope for my generation of women is that we can link arms together, rather than scrambling to climb on another's shoulders for our own advancement.  We are charged with raising the next generation.  This is not a job to be taken lightly and we need all the encouragement we can get!  Let's commit to fighting the crimes against our sex: trafficking, child labor, women's rights, gender equality.  Let's stand together for the advancement of our children and give our sons and daughters role models they can be proud of!

My parting thought is this...Let our resounding cry be "Eshet Chayil," which means "woman of valor!"  I know I have frequently felt bogged down by the idea of trying to be the Proverbs 31 woman.  I mean, who has the time to do all of those things?  If this is you, I encourage you to read A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans.  You can find a brief clip of her book and Jen Hatmaker's comments here.  

Eshet Chayil!!