By Kimberly Inskeep & Leslie Loewe
As I stood in line to board a flight from LA to Detroit, I couldn’t help but notice the woman in front of me. She exuded grace and loveliness, dressed in a comfortably chic style that immediately caught my attention. At that moment, I wondered if she was a mom.
Since starting Finding Foxtale, I’ve been keenly attuned to young millennial moms, eager to learn from them and understand their world. We struck up a brief conversation and to my surprise, we discovered we were seated next to each other on the flight. It felt like destiny had stepped in! We talked throughout the entire flight, and I learned so much from her. She graciously accepted my invitation to attend our brand event the next day—despite it being two hours from her home! Sure enough, she arrived with one of her daughters and our connection deepened even further.
Leslie Loewe is a mother of three girls, a thinker, writer, blogger, artist, creator, and a true lover of life. She writes and creates with the hope that mothers are inspired to nurture themselves, like they do their children, with love and patience. I hope her story encourages you to reach out and connect with NEW people. They’re all around us, waiting for an invitation to friendship and connection. You can follow Leslie @themotherloadofficial
Motherhood is often described as the most challenging job in the world. The days with young children can be long and lonely, and it’s easy to feel like the difficulties outweigh the joys. It’s easy to get caught up in the demands of daily life, losing sight of what truly matters. That’s why it’s essential to intentionally seek, create, and nurture joy. Cultivating joy allows us to connect to our truest selves. It reminds us that we are here to serve a greater purpose and acts as a guidepost on our path.
True joy, I believe, stems from fruitfulness, much like the process of bearing fruit in a garden—it takes time, patience, and care. A seed must be planted, the soil watered and weeded. In motherhood, joy is a long game. We experience happiness often in our daily lives, but joy is deeper…more purposeful. It requires us to see something bigger than the present moment. It requires us to take notice, to nurture that small glimmer of something beautiful, letting it take root in our soul as a sign that we are on the right path. Joy is unique to the mother, the person, and the beholder.
As a mother of three young girls, I’ve found that true joy often emerges from the challenges my daughters and I face together. Recently, I felt true joy when I dropped my 10-year-old daughter off at her performing arts camp. In the past, she had been a part of a few small shows, and her courage had grown through positive experiences. However, as the week for summer camp approached, I saw her inhibitions start to take hold. This was a bigger play with more experienced actors and actresses trying out. She wasn’t going to know a single person there and had to try out with a solo—all on day one! I saw self-doubt, fear, and even a desire to give up on her budding passion creep in.
We spent hours together practicing, talking about our fears, what it means to be brave, and what lies on the other side of trying. I went to bed that last night hoping I had said and done enough to renew her self-confidence. The next morning, I walked her to the door of camp. She turned around, gave me a hug and kiss, and said, “I love you, Mom.” She walked away to face her fears, use her gifts, and ultimately won herself a lead role in the play. I cry every time I think about how proud I was to see her walk through those doors on her own and do the hard thing.
Whether it’s navigating difficult moments or celebrating small victories, joy grows from the seeds we nurture together. Oftentimes, the seed is planted because of a difficulty we’re facing. Sometimes the fruit of our labor isn’t seen or felt for years. I’m not sure that winning that role was the actual fruit. I think that was a seed we planted that we’ll continue nurturing together. Perseverance pays off, and true joy is the result. The feelings that follow are hard to put into words. The fruits of our labor have been things like confidence, love, and realizations about ourselves and the world around us.
I see joy as being connected to who we are on the deepest level as humans. I see it as a sparkle, a glimmer, a light that guides us on our unique path. It is deeply personal because we are all unique. So, don’t look to someone else’s joy thinking it will create your own.
What brings you joy in your life? How can you nurture the small glimmers of hope and fruitfulness you see each day? Remember, momma, you have the power to cultivate joy, even in the most challenging times—because moms can do anything.
