Some black sesame red dates went one way. Advice about getting the kids to sleep early came back the other. That was my conversation with another mother at daycare this week, and I’ve been smiling about it since.
I’d brought some to share with her. She tried them straight away and liked them, then shared her tips with me. Such ordinary things to talk about. But I loved how easily we moved between having something to offer and having something to learn. I came away thinking how beautiful it is to have a companion in each stage of life.
I’ve been needing that feeling a little myself. I’m learning to make videos while building Velani, and everything takes longer when you’re new at it. A few days ago, I was wondering whether social media needed another person making things. There are already so many people, so many products, so much to read and watch. I want to make something useful for women like me, but sometimes I wonder whether I’m simply adding more to the pile.
Then a few women I had never met left kind comments on my video about having a hard week. “You’ve got this,” they said. Some followed me too. I had put a small piece of my real life out there, and someone had stopped to be kind to me.
I don’t know what will come of making these videos yet. I’m still learning. But I know I liked hearing from those women. Just as I liked that conversation at daycare, where there was something for both of us. Those moments make me want to keep sharing, and to pay attention when another woman has something she wants to share too.
Maybe you know the relief of talking to someone who is in a similar season. You can ask about the bedtime that keeps getting later, the thing you’re trying to learn, or the part of your day that is wearing you out. Sometimes she has an idea you haven’t tried. Sometimes she is having the same trouble, and you both get to admit it.
There is something I want to remember here as I build Velani. I can share what helps me while I’m still working things out. I can be useful to someone and need encouragement myself. That feels like an honest way to keep going, and much closer to the kind of company I would want in my own life.
Making room for ourselves might sometimes begin there, with enough space in a conversation to say what we need. If you’re used to being the person who remembers, arranges, and checks in, I wonder when you last got to bring a question of your own. Or tell someone about something you’re trying, before you knew whether it would work.
This week, I would like to leave a little more room for that. I enjoyed sharing something with that mother at daycare. I also enjoyed coming away with something she knew that I didn’t. And I’m grateful to the women who took a moment to encourage me when they could so easily have kept scrolling.
What are you figuring out these days that you’d love a little company with? You can reply and tell me. I’ll be reading, probably still figuring out a few things of my own.
With love, Meagan
P.S. If you’d like a quiet moment to work out what you need today, you can try the free Velani practice. Your one meaningful move could be reaching out to someone you trust.