Do you help within your expat community? Do you go out of your way to support your fellow expat mums?
I for one know I’d like to do more, volunteering for this, helping others with that… but I always seem to be so busy and I fail abysmally.
Sometimes however, it’s the little gestures that can really change someone’s life. Just a little chat at the park, a quick coffee can make all the difference.
Last week a friend posted on her Facebook wall. Her words were so powerful that I asked her permission to publish them here. I’ve edited out some names for privacy…
I’m in no way ashamed to say I have felt lonely at times since having my children.
It doesn’t make me any less of a mum. I’m a good mum; it’s the first thing in my life I’ve ever said I am good at.
And anybody that knows me knows my children are cherished. They are the best things in my life. They are my life.
When I gave birth to D, I lived in another country to my family and friends. I had no bloody idea what I was doing with this tiny little person and once my husband went to work each morning, I just had the dog to help me get through the day.
The loneliness hit me like a bus. But my god I made myself stay positive and strong.
I walked about all the time, to the supermarket and back to listen to conversations in Dutch and French and have no bloody idea what people were saying to me.
Then, one day I came across a group. A group for mums. A group for expat mums! Amazing ladies who were all in a similar position. But all mums and all who spoke to me in a language I understood.
These ladies saved me and I will never forget it.
These ladies saved me and I will never forget it. I came away from that first expat parent meeting feeling like a weight had been lifted.
Being a mum’s hard, and I hope I never forget that, no matter how old I get.
Nobody ever warns you of the loneliness that comes with motherhood. If anyone ever fancies a coffee, a play date, anything, I will always be around.
