In honor of International Women’s Day tomorrow, we’re celebrating the mom heroes who have shaped us—whether they are our mothers, grandmothers, mentors, or women in history who inspire us with their strength and wisdom. These women remind us that leadership, resilience, and care are not about doing it all but about staying true to ourselves.
Take a moment to reflect on the women who have shaped your journey. This may be someone who models mothering the way you hope to mother, or someone who encourages you as a mother. Importantly, your mom hero doesn't have to be someone who is a mom. You mom hero is someone who reminds you that while motherhood is hard, you canpersevere.
Mom heroes help us redefine success, not as perfection, but as courage and authenticity. They remind us that even in moments of doubt, we are capable, worthy, and never alone. To turn this into practice, you can:
Remember that each day is an opportunity to practice being the kind of mom you want to be. The wisdom and encouragement of those who inspire you can be a source of strength, reminding you that you can face whatever comes your way. Let’s honor our mom heroes by carrying their wisdom forward—lifting each other up, supporting the next generation, and celebrating the power of women everywhere.
At the 2018 United States of Women conference, Michelle Obama was asked how her mom, Marian Robinson, has inspired her as a mother. Michelle responded:
The mother that I am today is a direct result of Marian Robinson. My mom is one of the smartest people with just plain old common sense. The thing she always said that I do remember is that, she told me and my brother, 'I wasn't raising children. I was raising adults.'
Author, Activist, Founder of Together Rising, and Host of the We Can Do Hard Things Podcast, Glennon Doyle, reminds us that we are our children’s heroes and with that weight we owe it to them to live by our values:
Mothers have martyred themselves in their children’s names since the beginning of time. We have lived as if she who disappears the most, loves the most. We have been conditioned to prove our love by slowly ceasing to exist.
What a terrible burden for children to bear—to know that they are the reason their mother stopped living. What a terrible burden for our daughters to bear—to know that if they choose to become mothers, this will be their fate, too. Because if we show them that being a martyr is the highest form of love, that is what they will become. They will feel obligated to love as well as their mothers loved, after all. They will believe they have permission to live only as fully as their mothers allowed themselves to live.
If we keep passing down the legacy of martyrdom to our daughters, with whom does it end? Which woman ever gets to live? And when does the death sentence begin? At the wedding altar? In the delivery room? Whose delivery room—our children’s or our own? When we call martyrdom love we teach our children that when love begins, life ends. This is why Jung suggested: ”There is no greater burden on a child than the unlived life of a parent.”
from Untamed
What wisdom can your motherhood hero offer you this weekend?
Continue this reflection in the Moment for Parents app.