Photo by Daniel Torobekov from Pexels
**This guest post is by Kelsey Santerre, a former Appleseed teacher and beloved community member**
Although I am not someone who has ever been with child, I honour all who have carried life within their womb, no matter the duration. So often when someone is pre or post-partum the focus is on baby, but through the process of building life and providing for that life, the one carrying life goes through a tremendous amount of change! For any woman who has ever experienced pregnancy, within a period of anywhere between 0-9 months, 0-39 weeks, 0-273 days the body transforms and with that an identity is forced to shift.
I am writing this not for all the woman out there that have carried child, you get it! You’ve been there and lived it. The narrative that I am coming from here, is that of a daughter who grew up with a strong mother who experienced a difficult time post-partum. She fought through so many emotions and found herself ungrounded in her identity, and with all the body’s inner and outer fluctuations how could this not be the case!
On a different emotional magnitude, you could say that a woman’s monthly cycle carries her on one wave of hormonal change within a single month. Now, compare the amount of energy it takes for one wave to flow to shore versus the gravitational force required to M O V E 1 6 0 B I L L I O N T O N N E S O F S E A W A T E R I N A N D O U T 1 6 . 3 M E T R E S B O T H W A Y S T W I C E A D A Y ! ! ! Now that is the most relatable analogy, I have ever come to, that describes the hormonal shifts experienced within a woman’s pre and post-partum body.
To all of you who have ever been with child, no matter the duration, I see you!
Wishing you all a Mother’s Day where we honour the divine feminine that resides within each one of us, no matter gender or sex. To all who identify as Mothers in all shapes and forms, we are wishing you the happiest of Mother’s Days! Your tidal waves magnificent, your courage unfathomable, and love so profound.
With love,
Kelsey Gillian Santerre
Kelsey (she/her) worked closely for Appleseed pre-pandemic through teaching and admin support, and was a key teacher in establishing Appleseed’s Virtual Studio. She has just completed her MSc Psychology and is now a Psychotherapist in Training. Kelsey is a brilliant mind with an old soul and has her RYT 200hr, RYT 100 hr Kids (which she did in Bali), and she’s a Reiki practitioner. Follow her on Instagram @kelseygilliansanterre.