Learning to love again is a journey of vulnerability and hope. Learning to love again as a single mom becomes a much different journey with higher stakes.
Making the time to meet someone while preparing your mindset is paramount. Looking to the future with hope while simultaneously being present in each moment for your child is also part of this healthy recipe of love.
Creating a space in your heart to allow another to inhabit is the beginning of your path to fulfillment. Often mistaken by some as a selfish act, finding true love as a mom is a gift for yourself and your child.
Dating can be overwhelming for a single mom at times. Finding yourself again as an individual is a voyage of courage and self-reflection. I recently found a quote by Kiarry Spencer:
“When you find love later in life, you do it with all the wisdom of knowing heartbreak and all the peace of knowing who you are.”
While heartbreak is not a welcomed part of love, it is also a defining moment. It is a time to reflect, heal, and rebuild. Learning to love again is a rite of passage and a huge accomplishment. While it can be very scary and unpredictable, it also has its perks. Love is the universal language. It is an expression of hope, passion, and selflessness. Each relationship is a lesson in humility, resilience, and self-love.
I often remember the famous Alanis Morissette song “Unsent,” in which she pays tribute to all her ex-boyfriends, the good and the horrendous. What I found empowering about her stance on these broken relationships was that she could acknowledge her pain while finding her peace within the chaos.
You can learn more about yourself during the darkest times of your life. Being able to relate and knowing you are not alone is validating. Some moments in time can be snapshots of different growth steps in our lives. Moments where we can take the beautiful and not-so-beautiful and use them as a guide.
At these times, let’s remind ourselves to let hope and excitement lead us. I am not saying to throw caution to the wind; however, allow yourself to feel that innocence again. There is nothing like that feeling of your first true love—those butterflies in your stomach and excitement about anything related to that person.
Allow yourself to be vulnerable; I know it’s scary. I know it’s taking a chance. Nothing is guaranteed in life, but what happens if something beautiful occurs? We will never know unless we take that chance.
I am finally ready to. Are you?
