“A chicken got loose on the plane!” Laughter bubbled out of him, standing in my parent’s kitchen.
“It jumped OUT at a thousand feet!” Tears streaming from my eldest son’s eyes.
In a few short hours he would be the first one leaving the nest.
“This chicken hovered there for a minute, wings outstretched until it saw a red
spot on the ground. Thinking that was home, it dove.”
“Down it went until right above the ground it stuck out its wings to slow; the wings
went straight up and then SPLAT! And then what did they do? Being a curious
group of 19-year-olds, they bought a couple more chickens and threw THEM
OUT!—SAME THING!” His hands gesturing like wings, the youth shining through the clean-cut professional.
“Seriously, the funniest story I’ve ever heard.” Wiping tears from his eyes.
All I could think. Oh John, you’re not a chicken, are you?
Many moms worry if they imparted enough wisdom to their fledglings, slamming
in every life lesson into the last moments. I didn’t have this response.
I felt tossed from the plane, awaiting the eventual SPLAT! Is this motherhood? I
give everything and then I’m not needed anymore? Emotional waves of
worthlessness buried me the weeks leading up to his departure. Is he another
chicken thrown from the plane? Am I?
Seven months earlier, John and I jumped. Seeing the bottom of the plane, my
brain exploding. All focus was on expanding my lungs, and like the chicken, I
wanted the ground. John responded differently. He leaped, and his brain gave
up. He enjoyed zooming around, landing ready to go again. Unbidden to my
mind, hours after John’s departure, came the image of John’s smiling face—
You are not a chicken, you’ve got this.
His leaving was as exhausting and all-consuming as his coming. I feared I’d melt
into a pathetic puddle, SPLAT! A baby with puppy-dog-like hands and feet, a tall
gangly teen giving me a hug kept scrolling through my head. Who am I, now?
SPLAT?
The SPLAT never came. I bounced on a pillow of PEACE. The day marched
forward and I created space to feel and cry. The tears were of gratitude. For all
my son had taught me, and for the woman I’d become as his mother. Little
miracles. Understanding and something more, something solid. My existence
wasn’t defined by this relationship. It only enhanced who I already was. With
perfect clarity the significance of sacrifice jumped with no subsequent SPLAT.
God’s grace in the details of my life reminded me motherhood isn’t for the
chickens.
Becky has dispelled the myth that you can’t have it all… Becky’s a Mom of 6, a loving wife and a purposeful parenting coach. Her level of self-awareness and her continual focus on being her best self is what sets her apart. Becky is a Conscious Coach who can truly help any person awaken to their highest purpose. A nurturer to her core… Becky’s work is at the heart of what our families most need… as she provides the pathway to self-love, family connectedness and, ultimately, a better community and a higher level of consciousness that is changing our World for the better.