the sling diaries, vol. IV: everything shines | adventure

adventure 

(noun) - 

an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity; 

daring and exciting activity calling for enterprise and enthusiasm;

(verb) -

engage in hazardous and exciting activity,

esp. the exploration of unknown territory:

i adventured into motherhood.

over the course of the past six months, as i've written these entries for sakura bloom's sling diaries, i've come to realize something very important about motherhood: motherhood is far, far bigger than me simply being a mama.

motherhood is bigger than me being a mama to marlo and attempting to make it look easy or feel natural because, for me, it's neither. motherhood is about honesty and openness and embracing the challenge and sharing it with others.  

motherhood is bigger than one specific type of parenting; it's bigger than breastfeeding versus formula feeding, co-sleeping versus montessori beds, rice cereal versus organic and homemade purees, or attachment parenting versus helicopter or tiger moms. motherhood is bigger than what is portrayed by any one specific mother on a blog or social media stream. it's bigger than one mother's highlight reel.

motherhood is about connection and forming relationships with other mothers, uniting because of who we are, what we're doing, and also, what we have to learn from our differences. 

motherhood has become a large part of my journey as a woman. motherhood has proven to be the adventure of a lifetime but will last far longer than that within the legacy that i leave. 

motherhood is a daring task and, at times, even scary. it's unnerving and can become quite complicated. it makes me question and occasionally doubt myself every single day because i don't want to do any of it poorly. it makes me examine and then re-examine my priorities and my intentions. it gives depth to areas of my life that once lacked meaning. but aren't the best adventures a little of all of those things?

i've worn marlo for almost two years. i've held her close to me for a number of reasons. whether it's to comfort her or to allow myself to get a few things done while she sleeps away on my chest, wearing marlo made the adventure of motherhood feel more natural and helped me bond with my child during a period of time when that bond was all that i had to cling to.

as time progresses and i look at my confident and curious little girl, i've come to terms with the realization that the adventure of motherhood is also largely about embracing the inevitable change, transition, and growth our children will experience. knowing that the love and comfort you have provided for them to allow for such confidence should help us remember that the adventure of motherhood is always evolving... as are we. 

as this is my final diary for this volume, i want to sincerely thank sakura bloom for being a large part of our baby wearing adventure. i'm so looking forward to our next baby and beginning the adventure all over again. (but not anytime soon...fyi) also, thank you for giving me the confidence to finally step in front of the camera because it's not something i've ever felt comfortable doing. thank you for allowing me to explore topics that force me to think more intently about my journey as a mother and what i want to teach my daughter. thank you to all of the other sling diarists for your support and for doing everything that you do. 

you can read along with the other diarists here. 

in this post, i'm wearing a discontinued essential linen sling in blackberry/plum, which belongs to my gal, julie.