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There are transformations so profound they cannot be captured in milestones or measured in time. Motherhood is one of them. It is not a single event, but a quiet, ongoing alchemy—one that begins long before the first heartbeat is heard, and continues long after small hands no longer reach for ours.
Motherhood, I’ve come to understand, is not defined by biology alone. It is a way of being. It is the invisible thread that weaves care into every gesture, presence into every moment, love into every silence. Whether we birth children from our bodies, nurture souls through creativity, or tend to the emotional landscapes of others, we mother in countless, sacred ways.
This May, as the world springs into soft greens and petaled pinks, I reflect on what it has meant for me to mother—and to be mothered. I think of the lineage of women who came before me: their strength, their sacrifices, their songs hummed in kitchens and whispered into dreams. I think of my own children, and how they have not only made me a mother but also a deeper version of myself.
Motherhood is paradox. It is fierce and tender. Exhausting and exhilarating. Rooted in the mundane—laundry, packed lunches, bedtime stories—and yet transcendent in the way it stretches the heart’s capacity to hold more than we ever thought possible.
And then there is the motherhood we extend to the world; the way we comfort friends, champion dreams, tend to communities, or speak truth into a room that’s gone silent. That, too, is motherhood—offered not from obligation, but from a deep well of compassion.
On this Mother’s Day, let us honor not only those who hold the title of “mother” but also all who live the spirit of mothering in their daily lives. May we bow to the beauty, the labor, the love—and the quiet, magical alchemy that transforms us all.
Eva Staronova is a founder of a non-profit cultural and educational exchange organization in New York, NY, and an entrepreneur in the natural product industry with her company based in Los Angeles, CA.
She serves on the Charity Committee of the International Women’s Club of Bratislava.
