So much of motherhood in daily life is made up of so many small, imperceptible nothings.

The tears that are wiped away from an exhausted meltdown, the bruises that appear and disappear as our children explore their world, the time spent shushing the baby to sleep, the cleaning and re-cleaning of toys and books and clothes and messes, and meals that are made, and consumed, and forgotten …

As the days go by, it never seems like you “accomplish” much. You didn’t invent anything, you didn’t discover anything, you didn’t change the world, you didn’t cross something off of your bucket list.

You simply mothered. You sustained. You gave all of you, to another person. Then, you went to bed, and you do it all over again.

And each of these daily, small, imperceptible nothings become threads in the fabric of an entire childhood.

So take heart, mama.
Building a life of love takes time,
and that’s something.

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