12/06/2025
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ.
My children were insistent they could walk, that they didnโt need the sled, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ธ๐ข๐บ. โฃ
โฃ
And initially, they had boundless energy. They chased each other and their laughter was musical. โฃ
And even though they didnโt seem to need it, ๐ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ. It felt light and it wasnโt that hard to pull. โฃ
โฃ
After we walked a bit longer, one of my girls tripped and fell. She climbed in the sled for a minute and I kept pulling. โฃ
But she didnโt need it for long, and she hopped back out.โฃ
I was happy Iโd brought the sled to help her when she needed a break. โฃ
โฃ
They grew tired. With the fatigue came the emotions and the meltdowns began.
๐๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฃ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ? I asked. โฃ
โฃ
They both did. And I pulled them. โฃ
And sometimes we went downhill and it felt easy. โฃ
And sometimes we went up hills and it was heavy and hard, and I was sweating and feeling tired.โฃ
And when I was sweating and feeling tired, almost resentful about the weight of them, I would stop, pause and breathe.โฃ
โฃ
And sometimes they climbed out, feeling that they didnโt need the sled again, and would walk a little bit more, explore a bit further.โฃ
But they always returned to the sled. โฃ
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ธ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ต. โฃ
โฃ
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐. โฃ
We keep pulling the sled of support. Even when they donโt need it, we are there to help them keep going.โฃ
And when they do need it, we pull them through. To carry them when they canโt carry themselves, to support them when theyโre feeling tired and emotional.โฃ
And some days it feels light and all downhill, and pulling them, supporting them feels easy.โฃ
And some days it is all uphill and pulling them is so hard, and so exhausting.โฃ
And even when weโre tired from their weight and from our own fatigue, we pull them.โฃ
โฃ
So Mama, if your sled feels heavy today, pause and take a breath. You are working hard. This job isnโt easy.โฃ
There will be days when they wonโt need you to pull them, and it will get easier.โฃ
๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ฝ๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ.
