Tag Archives: becoming a mom

A Milestone Mother’s Day 2021

Today is Mother’s Day in the US. I am reflecting on the past 6 years since I became a mom. On Thursday, I received an email from my son’s teacher titled: “Kindergarten Graduation.” The email announced the date for their graduation, which would be this month, on May 26. The teacher further on made a request for us to send 5 photos of Phoenix from ages 0-5 years.

As I read that, I was overcome by a strong emotion. Tears immediately welled up in my eyes. That simple request for photos seemed to have transported me back to the moment I became a mom – the birth, the difficult first few weeks, the learning and transition into parenthood and also the incredible joys of watching this tiny little bundle that came into our lives in 2015 grow up to become a funny, smart, opinionated, gentle and silly six year old.

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The email from my son’s school was like an invitation for me to see how far we have come as parents, and how quickly time passes by. Since having our son in Cape Town, we have moved countries, changed jobs and navigated many life changes. Our son is our transition baby. Everything in our lives changed literally and figuratively when he came into our lives. He has flown with me several times in long international work trips from the US back to South Africa, he has changed preschools quite a few times – this is his third school between the ages of 2-6 years. 

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Phoenix turned 6 last month, and this month he will be having his first ever graduation. So much of life transitions for us in these 6 years, so much of growth into motherhood for me, but most importantly – so much growth as we celebrate our precious boy completing a phase of life development. This year’s Mother’s Day is special to me, because he gets to celebrate a tiny, major milestone in his journey. Who knew that a mom could feel emotional about a kindergarten graduation?


Let me share some photos that both David and I recently excavated as we embarked on the almost impossible mission of selecting 5 photos out of a million moments that have taken our breath away….

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This is really the end of an era. I can sense it in every part of my soul. It is one of those transition markers that I know I will look back on and be grateful I took a moment to “acknowledge it.”

I am leaving you with some random, special moments mommy and Nix that I found on my phone…

Happy Mother’s Day to all the brave, bold and dedicated moms!