Holding onto the final puzzle piece

Have you ever looked at your growing children and wished that time would just slow down? That's exactly where I found myself recently, gazing at my six-year-old daughter thinking, "I had you just yesterday." This feeling intensified with my third baby, Henry—our family's "last puzzle piece"—and triggered a profound reflection on time and presence in motherhood.

Time moves relentlessly forward, and as mothers, we often find ourselves caught between celebrating growth and mourning stages that have passed. But what if our preoccupation with slowing down actually prevents us from fully experiencing the present?

In today's episode, I chat through how I've come to see our family not as a static image but as an ever-evolving puzzle—the picture constantly changing as my children grow and as I transform as their mother.

Thank you so much for listening in! If this episode spoke to you, it would mean the world to me if you left a review or shared it with a friend. And don’t forget to tag me so I can personally thank you for helping me spread the word.

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Podcast account - @thrivelikeamother.podcast

Personal account - @thrive.empowered

Sending you light and love always!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, love, I'm Ebony and welcome to Thrive Like a
Mother On this podcast.
We're scared for our truth, butthat fear is what fuels us to
truly live in it.
You're in the right place ifyou feel like you're stuck in
survivor mode and you're readyto step into who you were truly

(00:20):
meant to be.
I'll share resources and toolsI use daily to help you in your
journey towards a healthiermindset and to break the wheel
of survival.
The journey may not be easy,but you won't have to face it
alone.
I'm a mama of three, healingday by day from past trauma, and
I'm on a mission to build alife I've always dreamed of but

(00:42):
never thought was possible.
So, love, if you're ready tobelieve in what's possible,
let's link arms and thrivetogether.
Hey, loves and welcome.
Okay, so I know I can't be theonly mama who has looked at
their babies and wished thattime would just slow down.

(01:06):
I'm looking at my six-year-old.
I'm like well, girl, I had youjust yesterday.
I'm confused.
I'm even looking at my threealmost four-year-old now and
thinking, wow, it was justyesterday that I was watching
you learn how to walk for thevery first time, and now, with

(01:30):
my third little one, henry, Ihave been struggling even more
with this concept because he'smy third baby and because he's
the last puzzle piece in ourfamily.
I want to, kind of, I want totake you on a journey here with
this puzzle piece analogy.
I'm thinking about a puzzlepiece coming together.

(01:52):
You're putting, you know you'vegot your puzzles laid out,
you've been putting it togetherand you get to that final piece.
Have you ever had a momentwhere you just want to hold on
to that piece a little bitlonger before you place it and
finish the puzzle?
And so, yes, henry might be thelast puzzle piece to our family

(02:12):
, but thinking about the sadnessof it helped me to start to
think about trying to see thejoy in this last puzzle piece
and how our family is an everevolving puzzle.
Because as I'm looking at thesebabies and they're growing up,

(02:36):
the picture is changing.
The way it looks right now maylook one way, but in a year, two
, three, it will look completelydifferent and I will be changed
as a mother.
My kids will be older and theywill be changed completely.
So I want to challenge you todaywith that feeling of wanting to

(02:59):
slow down.
If you have that, it's okay tofeel that it's normal.
I feel like we all do at somepoint, even if not just kids
just with life in general.
By wanting things to slow down,are we missing out on the
opportunity to just be in thatpicture, to be a part of it, to
fully experience and to fullyexperience and enjoy watching

(03:23):
them grow on the outside of us?
You're not missing it, mama.
You're in it right now.
Allow yourself to be fully init because you deserve it,
because your babies deserve allof you, to not always be
worrying that time is moving sofast, be worrying that time is

(03:49):
moving so fast and to just enjoythat, although it feels fast,
you are in it with them.
Thank you so much for listening.
Love.
If anything in today's episoderesonated with you, share it
with your bestie or share it onsocial media and tag me so we
can chat about it as always,sending you light and love, and
remember you are worthy, you areenough and you deserve to

(04:10):
thrive.