{"id":348076,"date":"2025-09-14T06:11:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T11:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/14\/motherhood-and-the-myth-of-balance-life-happens-in-seasons\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T06:11:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T11:11:50","slug":"motherhood-and-the-myth-of-balance-life-happens-in-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/14\/motherhood-and-the-myth-of-balance-life-happens-in-seasons\/","title":{"rendered":"Motherhood and the Myth of Balance: Life Happens in Seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This morning, my youngest ran down his preschool hallway for the first time. He stopped every few steps to touch the artwork on the walls. \u201cAda, mama! Ada!\u201d Animal, mama! Animal! <\/em>He hardly glanced back. As other parents corralled their little ones, I stood frozen in the doorway, tears flowing despite my best efforts to keep it together. It was the second time\u2014in two weeks\u2014I found myself crying at school drop-off. My oldest walked into kindergarten (with the same determined stride) just a week prior. Two boys, two milestones, and a mother feeling the bittersweet weight of time passing too quickly.<\/p>\n

image above from our interview with Alex Taylor<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n


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The Space Between the Milestones<\/h2>\n

As I type this, my home is quieter than it\u2019s been in years<\/em>. For the first time since becoming a mom<\/a>, I have stretches of hours where I\u2019m not tending, entertaining, or chasing someone small. By all cultural accounts, this should be the moment when balance finally feels possible. But if I\u2019m being honest? Balance isn\u2019t what I feel. What I feel is space\u2014strange, unstructured space. And what I\u2019ve come to realize is that parenting<\/a> has never really been about balance. It\u2019s about embracing the seasons along the way.<\/p>\n

Why Balance Misses the Mark<\/h2>\n

Speaking of, we\u2019re told balance is the gold standard: the ability to juggle family, work<\/a>, friendships, health, marriage, and personal growth<\/a> with ease. Like a set of scales, perfectly even, day after day. But real life doesn\u2019t behave like that. Especially<\/em> not life with kids. Motherhood is in constant motion\u2014fluid and ever-changing. There are days when caring for my family takes everything I\u2019ve got. There are days when my work as a writer and health coach<\/a> asks for more. There are days when nothing goes as planned, and I\u2019m reminded that flexibility matters more than anything. All of that to say, I\u2019ve stopped striving for balance. And truthfully? My nervous system<\/a> is steadier because of it.<\/p>\n

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What I\u2019ve come to realize is that parenting has never really been about balance. It\u2019s about embracing the seasons along the way.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Seasons of Motherhood<\/h2>\n

I can clearly divide my journey through motherhood into distinct chapters. The baby years<\/a> were a season of survival. Nights bled into mornings, and my body belonged to someone else. While my career didn\u2019t vanish, it shifted into the background. The toddler years were (read: are) a season of intensity. They\u2019re equal parts silliness and big, big feelings. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a season of doing everything in sprints\u2014writing during nap times, squeezing in early morning workouts, and throwing together a quick dinner<\/a> after the park. Like clockwork, the rhythm of our family life has changed yet again. For the first time in years, there is space to rediscover myself outside of motherhood (which feels both daunting and liberating).<\/p>\n

Womanhood in Seasons<\/h2>\n

Of course, it\u2019s not just motherhood that moves this way\u2014womanhood itself unfolds with a similar rhythm. There are seasons when your health requires attention: recovering after birth, navigating hormonal changes<\/a>, or rebuilding energy after burnout<\/a>. There are seasons when friendships flourish<\/a>, and seasons when they fall quiet because life is demanding elsewhere. There are seasons of career building, and seasons where ambition softens. What I\u2019ve learned is that the trick isn\u2019t to keep everything balanced all at once. It\u2019s to recognize which season you\u2019re in and give yourself permission to fully<\/em> live it.<\/p>\n

The Pressure to \u201cHave It All\u201d<\/h2>\n

Of course, society loves to tell us otherwise. A good mother also has a thriving career, glowing skin, toned abs, a full social calendar, and time for self-care. And if you don\u2019t? Something must be slipping. But what if nothing\u2019s slipping? What if it\u2019s simply not the season for that right now? During my baby years, I wasn\u2019t climbing an entrepreneurial ladder. And that wasn\u2019t failure. It was alignment<\/em>. I was honoring the season I was in. <\/p>\n

Now, as my boys step into school, I feel another shift. Work has space to expand, and I can lean into it with energy I didn\u2019t have before. Rejecting the myth of balance means rejecting the guilt that comes with it. It\u2019s a reminder that different priorities take center stage at different times. And I firmly believe that\u2019s not failure, that\u2019s wisdom.<\/p>\n

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When we embrace rhythm instead of balance, we learn to flow with the demands of the moment. We stop asking, how do I do it all at once?<\/em> And start asking, what does this season require of me?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Naming Your Season<\/h2>\n

As September unfolds<\/a>, I find it grounding to pause and ask myself: What season am I in right now?<\/em> It\u2019s a simple question, but it changes everything. It quiets the comparison, the guilt, and the pressure to juggle more than is realistic. Right now, I\u2019m in a season of transition. The boys are off to school, I\u2019m reclaiming pieces of myself, and I feel the pull toward work and creativity in a way I haven\u2019t in years. It\u2019s not perfectly balanced, but it feels true. And I know another season will come soon enough, with its own shifts and surprises.<\/p>\n

Finding Freedom in Rhythm<\/h2>\n

This morning\u2019s preschool drop-off reminded me of just how quickly seasons change. One moment you\u2019re rocking a baby to sleep, the next you\u2019re standing in an empty house, wondering where the years went. Balance may be a myth, but rhythm is real<\/a>. Life will always shift. Priorities will rise and fall. And taken together, these seasons weave a life that is far richer than anything balance could promise.<\/p>\n

So maybe the question isn\u2019t how do we balance it all?<\/em> Maybe the better question is this: How do we honor the season we\u2019re in?<\/em> Because motherhood\u2014and womanhood\u2014has never been about balance. It\u2019s about seasons. And each one, fleeting as it may be, is enough.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\"Edie\t\t<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tEdie Horstman\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

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Edie is the founder of nutrition coaching business, Wellness with Edie. With her background and expertise, she specializes in women\u2019s health, including fertility, hormone balance, and postpartum wellness.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n