Today my eldest daughter turned 10! What a beautiful journey we have been on these last 10 years. For sure we have had challenging times, but we have both growth so much and learnt so much together.

Exactly ten years ago , I became a mother for the first time. I knew my life was about to change, but I really had no idea how much it would transform me. As women, when we birth our young, we are also re-birthing ourselves. Our new self as a mother. I had read all the books about what to expect about the birth, everything by Ina May Gaskin and Michael Odent . But there wasn't really anything to prepare me for the transition from maiden to motherhood. I did feel very lucky to have had a mother blessing though, to have that transition acknowledged and celebrated, something that is so important and so so necessary.

It seems it is quite common in western society to just leave new mums to get on with it. Granted I had returned to Ireland after living abroad for 11 years and settled in an area where I did not know many people. I did however bond with some amazing people that I met through the, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Group, those same wonderful folk who held a mother blessing for me.

I had been told by one mother to just spend as much time cocooned with my baby as possible and that was the best piece of advise that I got. When my daughter was born, it felt completely natural to cocoon myself away from the rest of the world so that we could she could go through the transition of birth slowly and peacefully and so that I could also go through my transition the same way. I had no desire to leave my home, and I felt very very protective about my baby. I really only let family ad very close friends visit us the first few weeks. My instincts were telling me to stay in my space and take my time before becoming fully immersed back into the world.

I have since learnt that this is common practice in different cultures around the world, yet here in the modern Western World we are being advised to just take a few days to rest and recuperate before we jump back on the saddle. I remember reading stories about women being praised for getting back to work early and one French Politicians who went back to work a week after giving birth. All of this felt so wrong to me, so very wrong that women are no longer taking the time they need to really acknowledge and honour this powerful transition. That motherhood is not celebrated or honoured the way that it should be.

All those years women fought for equal rights and for what, so that we could lose the respect we had for one another when we become mothers. One step forward, only for one huge step back. Is this really progress, that has been made. I understand that not every women wants to be a mother, that is her choice, her right. But it is also the right of every mother to get the respect she deserves for birthing and raising the future generations.

So 10 years on and I still have a fire burning in me, a fire that burns so that we can all meet together as equals, yet also embrace the many amazing differences we all have. 10 years on and I see how my actions have painted, this picture of the world that my daughter see's. How my words have helped to shaped her reality. She too has a fire burning inside of her. She has showed me her fierce determination and her sensitive and gentle heart and I feel so blessed to have her in my life, to get to walk this path with her until she wishes to go it alone. I think back to this night 10 years ago, when I first laid eyes on you and how my heart felt like it would surely burst. Oh how it still feels the same when I look into your eyes today.

Happy birthday my beautiful, wild, smart, creative girl, you have brought so much love and light into my life and I am so honoured to stand witness to who you are, to who you are becoming. You are so perfectly you and I love you with every inch of my being!

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