"Mama learn from me , I want you to have a better life" My mother tells me as I show her my first varicose veins starting to show on my legs. "Don't push yourself too hard , learn to take time off, don't be like me"

What she doesn't know is that I want to be like her. I wish I had her courage, the strength she has to pull herself out of toxicity and jump into the unknown. I am still learning mother but I have your blood in me, I have watched you persevere for years, so I am hopeful.

"Don't allow people to take your shine, always find a reason to laugh" my mother in law tells me. She has perfected this. I have seen her laugh through hardship. I see it in her her son as well. Some days I want to call and ask her how? How do you laugh through this too? But I am ashamed of my inability to see through the foggy days.

To the beautiful mothers everywhere, raising a new generation is the the biggest responsibility I can imagine. I am in awe of your resilience.