When I was a school girl in Grade 2, one of my favorite games to play at recess was Wonder Woman. I would put on my bullet proof bracelets, spin my Lasso of Truth and climb aboard my invisible jet, along with the other 8 year old girls dreaming of becoming Wonder Woman. We were invincible, bringing truth, justice and feminine power to the playground.
Fast forward to the end of high school. About to venture into the next phase of my life - university - I was ready to seize what was in front of me. Young adulthood, knowledge and once again, truth. Finding my passions, determining my dreams, becoming the invincible woman - indeed the Wonder Woman - that I was destined to be. The end of Grad School brought the same feelings, now ones of mature independence, professionalism, and again truth as I began my career in Corporate America. A future that was incredibly bright was before me. I felt like Wonder Woman all over again. That little child was playing her favorite superhero once more, just in a different context. But the underlying values and dreams were there.
And now, 15 years later, I feel like my Wonder Woman is disappearing.
I left my corporate office behind 10 years ago after the birth of my first son and have been at home ever since. Now with three boys, a husband, dog, cat, and endless loads of laundry and messes to clean up,
I feel like I am losing my inner Wonder Woman. She has been lurking there in a dark corner for most of my motherhood years, and I feel that she is fading away.
And I am on a quest to rediscover her.
Motherhood is truly one of the most difficult jobs there is. We give 100 per cent of ourselves to our children. I love my boys, they are the center of my world. But in that world, I sometimes forget that I am there too!
Their passions have become my passions.
My meals are often their leftovers.
My hobbies involve writing about my children.
My dreams have morphed into dreams for my children.
(Plus my body has been forever changed by three pregnancies and 6 years of breastfeeding. Changes that only a breast lift and tummy tuck will fix. Can the real Wonder Woman mend that??)
Somewhere in my days and nights of mothering I have forgotten my own dreams, my own passions and my inner core. I know those things - the essence of my Wonder Woman - are still there, they have just been buried under the avalanche of motherhood.
So now my search begins. I'm giving myself four months of time devoted to this. Time to think about my inner core and what makes me, me. Time to rediscover my passions, convictions and hobbies. I've put a time frame on it because otherwise I know mommy-hood will take over - my needs will fade away again unless I give myself a specific goal to work towards.
Have you lost your inner Wonder Woman as well? Is she lurking in the shadows?
Or is she up front and glorious for the world to see? If she is, please share how you found her - or never lost her!
If you want - and need - to look for her, let's do our searching together. Let's fill our world with Wonder Women - women of confidence, beauty, strength, and truth. Truth to ourselves and those we love most.
The re-discovery begins tomorrow, Wednesday, March 2. Here on the half full pink martini, I'm declaring Wednesdays to be "Wonder Woman Wednesdays" when we can board our invisible jets, wear our bullet proof bracelets and lasso some truth. Are you ready to fly?
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Deb - so interesting that you wrote about this topic right now. I am just finishing up a book that has been addressing some of these same ideas - understanding our view of ourselves, our view of God, how they relate to each other, and to our sense of contentment and purpose in life, and other lofty philosophical things - sometimes a little too lofty for my brain, but I could get the basic gist of it :) Its been a very interesting read!
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