As mothers, we navigate our lives adorned with invisible badges of honor. These badges often go unrecognized, lacking the fanfare or ceremonies they deserve. Yet, we know they exist. Our mothers, sisters, and closest friends see them too. Some moms wear just a few significant badges, while others are adorned with many, overlapping and vying for attention—each one a testament to the journey we’ve endured.
Certain badges are earned the moment two pink lines appear on a pregnancy test—those lines we longed for with all our hearts. Some come from the countless meals we forgo, feeling nauseous and swollen, often reduced to tears over a bowl of cereal. Others are marked by a single drop of blood, a sign of the tremendous effort it takes to bring life into the world.
There are badges acquired through the stretch and strain of our bodies, the loosening of ligaments, and the ever-decreasing space in our lungs. Some are awarded after navigating mountains of paperwork and hopeful journeys, sometimes even traveling overseas. Those badges are pinned to our chests the moment we gaze into the wide eyes of our little ones, who emerged from a place of fragility and wonder beyond our own.
Many badges are earned when birth plans go awry, or through painful experiences where our bodies are cut open and sewn back together again. Some leave behind physical reminders, like shimmering stretch marks that dance across our bellies, or the all-too-real struggles with postpartum challenges. And let’s not even start on the changes to our breasts.
Others are earned in the trenches of exhaustion, stumbling through nights filled with soft cries, the sweet scent of baby skin, and tears that mysteriously fall down our cheeks. Some badges emerge years later, as we sleep on the couch beside our feverish child, propping them up just so they can breathe, earning yet another badge of silent sacrifice.
Every time we choose patience—explaining why clothes matter, why biting hurts, or why candy isn’t medicine—another badge is added. The panic that surges when we can’t find our child, followed by the euphoric relief of their safe return, also earns us another badge.
We earn badges through their first heartbreaks, failures, and moments of self-doubt. They accumulate as we wipe down tables, sweep up Cheerios, fold laundry, pour milk, and simply survive the repetition of daily life. Each eye-roll, every whine, scream, and fight, adds to our collection. Some badges come when they don’t come home, others when they lie to us or push us away with all their might.
Then, there’s that one badge that shines brightest, marked by strands of gray in our hair and a heart that bears the weight of all the others. It’s the badge we earn as we watch them venture into the world alone, hoping they too will acquire their own badges.
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In summary, motherhood is a tapestry of unseen badges, each one representing the resilience, love, and sacrifice that mothers embody. We may not wear them visibly, but they are an indelible part of our identity.
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