A Love Letter to My Son and the Mothers Who Shape Us

Send us a text

The tender threads of motherhood weave through this deeply personal episode as I share a love letter to my son Javon on his 30th birthday.

Thirty years ago, as a scared teenager without even a high school diploma, I was thrust into motherhood — holding a tiny human who depended on me while I was still learning how to depend on myself.

That moonlit night when I first brought him home, whispering promises I wasn’t sure I could keep, marked the beginning of a transformative journey — one that reshaped my entire existence.

Through raw and honest reflection, I share how motherhood taught me that love isn’t only gentle — it’s fierce, demanding, and expansive. It stretches us thin, yet paradoxically makes us whole.

My son became my greatest teacher, reflecting my essence back to me when I couldn’t see it myself. He showed me how to receive love when I wanted to push it away, and how to give love without conditions.

This episode honors not only my relationship with Javon but also the many forms of mothering:
 → those who have given birth
 → those who have lost mothers
 → those mothering themselves
 → and those navigating motherhood without children

This Mother's Day carries special meaning — marking both my son's milestone birthday and my first without my daughter, Natalie, here physically.

I speak to how grief and gratitude can coexist, and how Natalie’s love continues to radiate through her boys. I share how I am learning to honor both joy and sorrow, and how love continues to shape us.

Whether this day brings you smiles, tears, or quiet reflection — I invite you to meet it authentically, without performing or carrying others' expectations.

Join me for a mindful moment. Feel the support beneath you. Remember — you are not alone in this sacred circle of mothering.

✨ Share your reflections: [e-mail]
 ✨ Join the conversation: #LiftOneSelfMotherhood

Let’s grow this community of authentic, loving presence… together.

Support the show

💛 Support the Show

If you’ve been moved by this episode and want to support the work, you can do so here:
👉 buymeacoffee.com/liftoneself

Your support helps me keep sharing honest conversations, healing tools, and reminders that we are not alone.

Remember, the strongest thing you can do for yourself is to ask for help.
Please help us grow by subscribing to and sharing the Lift OneSelf podcast with others.
The podcast intends to dissolve the stigmas around Mental Health and create healing spaces.
I appreciate you, the listener, for tuning in and my guest for sharing.

Our website
LiftOneself.com
email: [e-mail]

Find more conversations on our Social Media pages
www.facebook.com/liftoneself
www.instagram.com/liftoneself

Want to be a guest on the Lift OneSelf podcast message here on Podmatch:
https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/liftoneself

Music by NaturesEye

Opening Music "Whip" by kontraa
Opening music Prazkhanal
Opening music SoulProdMusic
Meditation music Saavane

Episode Transcript

NatNat (00:00):
Welcome home to the Lift One Self podcast.
I'm your host, nat.
Nat, today's episode is tender,it's celebrating, it's a
mixture of everything A loveletter to my son, Jahvan, on his
30th birthday, and to all themothers, to those who have
mothered, been mothered, lost amother, longed for a mother, and

(00:22):
those learning how to motherthemselves, or the mothers that
are childless.
Whether this day feels soft,raw or somewhere in between, I
invite you to listen with yourheart.
30 years ago, I was birthedinto the role of mother.
I didn't know what I was doing.
I was so scared.

(00:43):
Here's this little humandepending on me, what I was
doing.
I was so scared.
Here's this little humandepending on me while I was
still learning how to depend onmyself and figure out.
How do I navigate in this world?
What do I do?
How do I do this?
I didn't even have my highschool diploma yet.
Those questions echo quietlyinside me.
I remember that first night homewith you, Jahvan Quiet

(01:05):
apartment, the moonlight throughthe window.
You felt so small in my armsand yet the love already felt
immense.
I whispered promises.
I wasn't sure I knew how tokeep, yet somehow we figured it
out together.
You brought me back to love,even when I resisted, even when

(01:26):
I pushed it away, you reflectedmy essence back to me.
You taught me how to receivelove and how to give it without
conditions.
When life knocked me down andthere surely has been many of
them the love we share of them,the love we share accountable

(01:49):
love, always lifted me up.
You have always had my back,and words could never truly
express the gratitude I hold forthat.
You changed my world.
You are my greatest gift.
I chose to birth you naturally,to feel it all, to be fully
present, raw and anchored inappreciation, because I didn't
want to take you for granted thegreatest gift I have.

(02:14):
Motherhood taught me that loveis not only soft, it is fierce,
it humbles, it expands, itstretches us thin.
It expands, it stretches usthin and yet makes us whole.
To mother is to become bothsanctuary and storm, to hold
when others cannot holdthemselves, to release, to guide

(02:35):
and to let go, and to love,even when it asks more of you
than you thought you could give,more of you than you thought
you could give.
And in this breath I findmyself thinking of my own mommy,
the very first place I knew ashome Her hands, her voice, the
way she tried, even when lifeweighed heavy, to love the best

(02:58):
she could.
Mommy, I see you in me, nowmore than ever, in the moments I
reach for grace, in the ways Isoften when life feels sharp, in
the fierce love I hold for myown children.
I know now mothering isn't aboutperfection.
It's about presence, aboutdoing the best you can with what

(03:18):
you have, about love that keepstrying.
So today I honor you too, mommy.
You allowed life to comethrough you.
You gave me beginnings, andalthough our journey has had
both ache and care, your love inall its form lives on in me.
I carry you always To all themothers listening.

(03:41):
I see you carrying worlds onyour shoulder while still
finding the strength to liftothers.
I honor your journey, yoursacrifice, your quiet resilience
.
I haven't always gotten it right, god knows.
I've made a ton of mistakes.
Sometimes I shake my head whenI think of them and just cower.

(04:04):
Sometimes I shake my head whenI think of them and just cower.
Yet I take accountability and Ileave space for you, javon, and
your brothers to call meforward when I falter, and God
knows, the twins know how to dothat very well.
That too is love.
That too is the sacred work ofmothering.
Jahvan, you have always beenwise, even in your quietness.

(04:25):
You have been my teacher andyou still are.
You are the best Mother's Daygift every single year.
And as you turn 30 and stepinto this new decade, this new
chapter of your life, I stand onthe highest mountain of my soul
, calling out to anyone who willlisten.

(04:47):
Will you please help mecelebrate this incredible man,
Jahvan, you are worthy ofcelebration and this love
matters.
Mommy loves you always.
Mommy loves you always.
To everyone listening, thisMother's Day holds tenderness
for me also.
It's the first without mysunshine Natalie here physically

(05:09):
.
That ache is real, and yet sois the joy.
She gave me, the gift ofprofound life experience of what
breath really is, of surrender,of acceptance, of allowing

(05:36):
feelings to coexist whileremaining present To our boys.
This day may meet you in manyways.
It might bring smiles or tearsor quiet reflection, all of it
or nothing at all.
However, it meets you, let itbe what it is, no right way, no
wrong way, just yours.
Don't perform for anybody ormeasure up to anybody's
standards.
This is your experience.

(05:57):
Your mother's love radiatesthrough each of you.
She imprinted herself in you inyour humor, your fierceness,
your care.
That fierce love is alive inyou.
She's still cheering you on,still nagging about the little
things and still reminding allof you to keep the house clean

(06:21):
and, most of all, she is sodeeply proud of you.
So, boys, lean on your village,let them hold you and know you
are deeply loved.
Before I close, will you join mein a mindful moment?
I invite you to place your handon your heart or wherever it
feels comforting.

(06:41):
Take a soft, gentle breath.
Feel the support beneath you,feel yourself here in this space
.
Whatever is stirring gratitude,ache, longing, tenderness there
is room for all of it.

(07:01):
You don't need to fix or changeanything.
Just be here.
You're not alone.
Take another deep breath andallow there to be openness in

(07:22):
your body.
This love letter was for Jahvan,and yet it's also for all of us
, for those finding their waythrough the sacred circle of
mothering.
I would love to hear yourreflections.
You can email me at liftoneself at gmailcom, or join the
conversation on social channelsusing hashtag lift oneself
motherhood, and please share itwith somebody that you think

(07:45):
would benefit from it.
Help grow the community.
Remember to like, comment andsubscribe.
Thank you for holding thistender space of celebration with
me today.
Be intentional with your time.
It's your true currency andyour wealth.
Time is a tool, not a toy.
Use it wisely.
Until next time, remember to bekind to yourself.

(08:07):
You matter.