Mother Hen’s House.
Midnight Musings of a middle-aged mother hen.
If you asked me five years ago to describe who I am; I would have without hesitation or exception said: “I’m a mom”. It is all I have ever wanted to be or identified as. Sure, I have had various jobs. A few careers even, but my identity? Wholly and completely, a mom. As a lifelong professional Early Educator, I wasn’t even just mom to my biological children but a stand-in mom to hundreds of other children over the last thirty years. The interesting thing is – kids grow up. What once was a twenty-four hour a day, seven days a week calling starts to not take up quite so many hours of the day. Oh sure, I am never “not” a mom, but my children are grown. They are spreading their wings and starting lives of their own as it should be and that leaves me with a lot of time, most of it in the quiet of the wee hours, fueled by menopausal insomnia, to question not who I have been, but who I might now become. It isn’t always a comfortable question to ponder but my midnight musings give me plenty of time to reflect, so here we are.
I have been a professional child care provider and Early Educator. I am a licensed foster parent and educational surrogate. I have served as a mentor to teen (and other) moms. I am a social justice advocate and a shared living provider for young adults with developmental disabilities. I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother, business partner, and friend. If left to my own devices, I prefer to be a social introvert but I will not hesitate to step out of my comfort zone and become a formidable warrior if my people need championing and that is how I became known as ‘Mother Hen’.
Given my proclivity to remain behind the scenes unless called upon, I would never have ventured into the public blogosphere. I would have remained perfectly happy to continue writing stories and poems for my kids and journal entries for myself, but apparently, the universe has other plans for this mother hen. I have a deep personal faith and I have received and accepted the message that to be here, on this page is part of my journey. I am by no means an expert, but I have packed a lot of living and experience into this life. My hope is with humor and heart, I can share my story with you and in doing so, perhaps you will find a “nugget” of inspiration or maybe some helpful hints or at the very least I can provide you with a dose of humor to make it through your own sleepless night. Not one of us is getting out of here alive, so we might as well enjoy the ride and pick up some sisters along the way. Namaste.
