By Heather Palacios
The mom-season I am in now is diametrically different than the mommy-season I was in twenty-three years ago. Back then, I had one son in pull-up’s and one son in diapers. One learning to talk and one learning to walk. Both depending on me and clinging to me, more than Dad or anyone else. And back then, I was daily anticipating sleep instability, unregulated schedules, bags under my eyes and unshaven legs. Fast forward to the season I’m in now—commonly referred to as, “the empty nest.” It could not be any more opposite of those early-mommy days, if it tried. [And all the empty-nesters said, “AMEN!”] When DJ and Andy were little, I led a mommy-group and published a weekly mommy e-newsletter. (For those of you who don’t remember way back then—social-media was a blip on the radar, texting was just emerging, and email was king.) Recently, I did a deep-dive into the archives of those weekly mommy e-newsletters and found something I had written for a special Mother’s Day edition. As I reread it for the first time in a long time, it seemed rather trite and rudimentary. Maybe that was due to that mommy-season of sleep deprivation. LOL. Who knows! But I felt a nudge to brush the dust off it and bring it out of the archives for this month’s “Hope with Heather.” I HOPE, somewhere in its simplicity, there is a little dose of encouragement for you. I titled it:
Mother’s Alphabet:
Dear _________ [your child’s name]
A – Always here for you
B – Blessed to have you
C – Compassionate on you
D – Dedicated to you
E – Encouraging to you
F – Faithful to you
G – Genuine with you
H – Here to help you
I – In this with you
J – Journeying with you
K – Keeper of your confidence
L – Listening-ear for you
M – Merciful on you
N – Not perfect with you
O – Overcoming with you
P – Patient with you
Q – Quietly beside you
R – Real with you
S – Sacrificing for you
T – Truthful with you
U – Understanding for you
V – Vigilant for you
W – Watchful over you
Y – Yearning for your best
Z – Zealous for your future
Love,
Mom
Hope With Heather reflects my personal experiences and insights and should not be taken as a substitute for professional guidance in any field.
Bio:
Heather is married to Raul Palacios, one of the pastors at Church By The Glades. Together they are raising two sons in Coral Springs, Florida. She is a graduate of Judson University with a degree in Business Management. Heather is a multiple suicide-attempt survivor who believes if you wake up breathing, that’s your proof to keep going.