Ahm, Ema, Majka, Mãe, Máthair, Mor, Mutter, Madre, Okaasan, Mor, Mat', Mzazi, Mum, Mother.

moth·er, 
ˈməT͟Hər/
noun
   1. a woman in relation to her child or children.
verb
   1. bring up (a child) with care and affection.
"the art of mothering"
   2. give birth to.
synonyms: give birth to, have, bear, produce, birth

I never thought of myself as the Mother archetype.  Actually, that label has made me want to run for the hills.  It triggered something inside of me that felt very uncomfortable. When i think of Mother i think of stable, nurturing, giving, caring, protecting, feeding, teaching, warmth and selfless.  The opposite of exciting, wild and free!

I have considered myself a free spirit for much of my life. I believe the free spirit in me led me on a quest to "find myself" and oh, what a journey it has been!  I never quite took the straight path.  I traveled, i explored, i experimented, i went through many highs and equally as many lows, i was heart broken, i broke hearts, i did what i wanted to do and didn't always consider how others were affected by it.  What i am realizing now is that the search led me to who i am today and the part that was found was the Mother within.  The free spirit remains a big part of me and still wants to take the windy, non-traditional road but the Mother in me has also emerged and she wants to be seen.  She wants to give, to love, to root down, to guide. 

The next time i write a blog post, i will be the mother of a child but i have come to realize that i have been a mother for a long time now.  I have protected my family, comforted my friends, nurtured my boyfriends, guided my students, given life to ideas,  birthed projects, cared for strangers and fed anyone who has come into my home.  Having a child is not the only way to be a mother.  As Oprah Winfrey wisely puts it "biology is the least of what makes someone a mother".  In one form or another, all women are Mothers.  I am finally seeing that the Mother Archetype is not something to run from, it is something to embrace and i am ready to step into the role.