Time keeps on ticking indeed.
Seems to go faster each year. My friend, Rachel Marie Martin, the woman behind FindingJoy.net, penned these words in her book, The Brave Art of Motherhood. May I say, if you have one book on mothering, make it this one-and give it to every mom you know, new or more experienced. Below is an excerpt of the first chapter.
I grew up in the eighties. My kids think it’s epic how I lived during the generation they now deem retro. In fact, several years ago I flew cross- country to Seattle to visit my oldest daughter, Hannah, who was a sophomore in college. We hung out in her trendy local bakery, and as we ate crumbly gluten-free pastries topped with dollops of fresh whipped cream and sipped our overpriced espressos, she asked, “Hey, Mom, do you want to go to this cool vintage shop with me? I know you’ll love it.”
I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I pushed my chair back and grabbed my coffee, and together we walked across the leaf-covered street to Hannah’s favorite store, while she rapidly talked about how much I would adore this place and all the amazing objects inside.
As we wandered around the dusty shop, I observed something unexpected. In fact, I started to laugh as the reality became clearer. You see, her “vintage” store with collectible items that withstood time was not filled with the antiques I was expecting but was, in fact, filled with relics from my own childhood.
I spotted orange and lime-green Tupperware, the same as my mother once sold. Fisher-Price toys, the same ones I used to play with, now fetched a premium price. Cabbage Patch Kids, Atari game consoles, and other games I thought had disappeared lined the shelves. A wall of posters of artists I loved hung by bins of vinyl records, cassette tapes, and CDs. I flipped through them, past Huey Lewis and the News and Tears for Fears, and then saw one of my favorite tapes by the Steve Miller Band tucked in a stack. As I looked at the cover, the now poignant lyrics filled my mind: “Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking into the future.”
While I hummed the melody, I looked up at Hannah meandering through rows of my childhood now for sale. She was looking at neon shirts, and as she thumbed through the rack, her face scrunched up just a bit. I’d seen that face before. It was long, long ago on the hot summer night when she was born. Her tiny six-pound-thirteen-ounce self came into this world with that same scrunchy face. She was a feisty newborn, completely dependent on me, her rookie mom.
I sighed heavily—the type of sigh reserved just for moms—and as she decided which eighties shirt was the best I wondered, Where in the world did the time go?
She didn’t know I stared at her, but there she was, just a couple of years younger than I was when I’d first held her.
I remember that me. I was feisty, full of dreams, full of hopes.
Now there I stood, twenty years later, a divorced mom of seven kids, watching her and, in a way, watching myself. That sigh wasn’t just about how quickly she grew up, but it was also because of the clear image of my own passage of time.
To finish reading the first chapter, click here. Then scroll to the bottom of the page to find. Chapter 1: Time Keeps On Ticking
(Technically challenged to create an anchor link to that spot – sorry!)
A bit about Rachel Martin:
Rachel Marie Martin is the voice behind Finding Joy, a website dedicated to seeking joy in life, specifically in motherhood and empowerment for us as women. And that’s what her website is about — her constant journey to find joy, to fight for your heart, to celebrate your story and to share with you that you, in the midst of your journey, are not alone. Let’s just call it a spot to breathe in a busy and crowded online world full of should do this and should do that’s — it’s a site of encouragement for mothers and a bit of intentional living mixed in.
In this post, Rachel interviewed 75 moms, asking them to look back to help other moms move forward.
It’s about finding yourself, breaking patterns, and becoming brave. You may want to read some of her most viral posts – Why Being a Mom is Enough, I Forgot How to be the Happy Mom and more. But, in all, her desire is to celebrate you – the woman on a motherhood journey and to cheer you onward.
Oh by the way, join us Friday, April 26th at 3:30 PM Central time online at GraceAndTruthRadio.World or download GraceAndTruthRadio.World from the App store on your device to hear us talk about The Brave Art of Motherhood – and how to give yourself some grace in your mothering.