Moving to the North Shore almost two years ago I felt lonely and overwhelmed as a mom of a newborn and a toddler. I needed friends, support, encouragement, wisdom and time to myself. Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) provided each of these for me and I am very thankful for this ministry in my own life. I am not the only one who feels this way and I wanted to share a reflection from a brave mom who wanted to share about what MOPS means to her.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but I’d add that a big part of what the village does is support its mothers! MOPS has been a huge support to me – in the relationships I have found there with moms like me, and in the community of moms who have taken care of me when I needed something bigger than myself. Two and a half years ago after my second child was born I experienced postpartum depression and was struggling with taking care of myself, my 2-year-old, and my infant who had serious feeding issues. Ironically, in a week when I was in the thick of it with my kids the speaker at MOPS spoke about PPD, and I was able to share my struggle with my MOPS table, through tears, and explain how I was feeling like I needed to get help but couldn’t figure out a way to get out of the house to see a therapist. My table leader immediately offered to watch my kids once a week so I could get the help I needed — and because of her support I did just that! We have a strong friendship to this day and she still occasionally picks up my kids and takes them for a few hours so I can get a break!
Fast forward a few years to now – just this spring – I experienced a great loss. My father committed suicide. Faced with the grief and trauma of this unexpected event I struggled to keep my family going but of course there was MOPS, my “village” who not only prayed for me but organized a meal train so I wouldn’t have to cook for my family in this difficult time. I have been blown away by the kindness of the women (some of them I hardly know!) who have blessed me with home cooked meals to lessen the burden on me. This is what MOPS does – we take care of each other! This is just one reason I’m involved with MOPS. No woman is an island – we need our village! And I’m so grateful for the village I have.
MOPS starts back up on Thursday, September 22, at 9am in the Family Room at NSCBC. Please visit the MOPS page for more information or email me, Katie Alcott: katie.morico@gmail.com.
