I have given birth to three children. I feel very strongly about my role as a mother. I haven't always done the right thing, I have made mistakes. But I've also done a lot of good things. My kids feel loved, they have confidence, they know they can be independent but that my husband and I are there to support them. I used to feel guilt or remorse about my wrongdoings or things I haven't done but a few years ago I decided that guilt serves no purpose. That what did matter was how I moved forward, that I offered compassion to not only my children but myself. It's made a world of difference in my relationship with them. In my relationship to myself. And the world. So here in this photo I stand behind my son, my youngest child. But I still show myself, because while I think the most important role in my life is to be their mother, I'm still there. I'm still here. I am a mother, but I'm still Jane.
I have read about something called microchimerism, a condition in which women harbor cells that originated in their children even decades after birth. I find that fascinating and beautiful. How have those cells shaped me as a person, as a woman? Have they made me more creative, more loving? How will they continue to shape me as my children grow and move beyond their lives here at home?
It's said you keep parts of loved ones in your heart even after they leave this world. How wonderful it is to know that with my children it's true in the physical as well as emotional sense.
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