Eighteen Years of Lessons in Motherhood and Leadership

Walking Beside, Not Ahead — A Motherhood and Leadership Truth

In just a few days, I will mark 18 years of motherhood.

It’s a strange milestone — part gratitude, part disbelief, part reflection.

I thought I would be the teacher.

Instead, my children have been quietly teaching me — every single day.

Three children. Three whole worlds. Three master teachers.

The days have been anything but the same.

Some loud, some tender, some stretched too thin.

Some where I was sure I was failing,

and others where I felt the rare, quiet pride of getting it right.

Motherhood hasn’t been one big, sweeping lesson.

It’s been a million small ones — whispered, repeated, tested, and sometimes learned the hard way.

Like the day my eldest stood at the departure gate, suitcase in hand, turning to give me the calmest smile I’ve ever seen on him.

In that moment, I learned that letting go is not losing — it’s trusting the roots you’ve grown together.

Not all teachers stand in classrooms. Some walk beside us in the dark, showing us the way.

Or the afternoon my middle son, frustrated with a project, disappeared into the garden — and returned half an hour later, holding a handful of wildflowers as if they were the answer.

He taught me that sometimes, stepping away is the only way forward.

And then my youngest daughter, who still climbs into my lap unannounced, with no agenda other than to be close.

She reminds me daily that presence matters more than productivity.

They’ve made me softer where I was hard, stronger where I was brittle, and wiser in ways that no degree or training ever could.

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They’ve shown me that…

• Love can be fierce without being controlling.

• Listening is often more powerful than fixing.

• Laughter at the wrong moment can save the day.

• Being present is more important than being perfect.

  
  

And maybe the most unexpected lesson?

That leadership in its purest form isn’t about authority.

It’s about walking beside someone as they become who they’re meant to be.

So today, I’m looking at the three of them — these incredible, complex, beautiful humans — and feeling nothing but gratitude.

They have been my greatest teachers.

My clearest mirrors.

And the deepest love I will ever know.

Thank you, my loves. ❤️

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A question for you

Who have been your greatest teachers — the ones you didn’t expect, but who quietly reshaped you?

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Go deeper

If this reflection touched something in you — if you’re walking through your own season of learning, letting go, or being reshaped by love — I’d be honored to walk beside you.

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And if you’re in a threshold moment — between holding on and letting go, between guiding and releasing — let’s talk. I offer a free 60-minute resonance session to meet, listen, and see what’s ready to unfold.

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And if you take one thing with you today, let it be this:

Leadership — in motherhood, in work, in life — is not about control. It’s about walking beside someone as they become who they’re meant to be.