I thought I was finally choosing my family. Then life tried to take me away from them.​..

In 2022, I finally broke the script. ​I have a Master’s degree and a career in teaching, but the 14-year-old girl inside of me—the one who knew her highest calling was motherhood—was finally screaming loud enough to hear. I decided to walk away from the “mandatory” career path to be a stay-at-home mom. I thought I had finally arrived at my purpose.

​Six months later, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. ​Suddenly, the woman who wanted to be the “pillar” of the home was collapsed in a hospital bed. Instead of taking care of my three beautiful children, I was being taken care of by my husband and my mother.​

I felt completely useless.​

In a society that tells us our value is tied to our “productivity,” being unable to wash a dish or drive my kids to school felt like a form of death. I was a “Master’s educated teacher” who couldn’t even stand up on her own. I felt like the “Simulation” was punishing me for trying to leave the machine.​

While I was going through chemo, radiation, and a life-saving stem cell transplant, I was forced to watch my “Inner Circle” from the sidelines. I saw my husband step up in ways that moved me to tears. I saw my children’s resilience. And I realized something profound:​ My family didn’t love me for what I “did” for them. They loved me because I was the HEART of their world.

​I didn’t need to “produce” anything to be the most important person in that house. My survival wasn’t just about me; it was about preserving the sanctuary we had built together.​

The “Machine” wants you to think you are only valuable when you are working, consuming, or “feeding the system.” It wants you to feel guilty for “just” being a mom.​

Don’t believe the lie.

I stared death in the face and realized that the only thing that matters when the world falls away is the people standing around your bed. I survived the fire so I could come back and tell you: Hyper-focusing on your family isn’t a “small” life. It is the only life that is real.​

I am no longer a slave to the “mandatory” path. ​The “Machine” wants your time and your anxiety. Your family wants your presence. Choose wisely before life chooses for you.

I am a survivor, a wife, and a mother. And that is more than enough. 🕊️🏡​

This is my safe space to drop the worry and share what’s on my heart.

🤍 Midwest Millennial Mama

Have you ever had a moment where life forced you to stop ‘doing’ and just ‘be’? How did it change your perspective on what’s actually important?

Drop a comment below. 💬

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