Celebrating Mothers and Daughters!

In our lounge room today six wonderful women celebrated being mothers and daughters! Mum, Eowyn, Coco, Katie, Josephine, (Rachel, Seren, Tidi & Bibi in absentia) and I shared the following ritual together - indeed a sacred time.

Celebrating Mothers and Daughters

By the Ady Ladies!

Mothers: I love you

You’re my child forever

I love you

Daughters: I love you

I’ll love you forever

Mothers: In your face I see my face and my mother’s face.

Daughters: In your face I see my face and my daughter’s face.

Mothers: In my womb you grew, so small, so vulnerable, yet you, cells soaked with (name)-ness.

Daughters: Thank you Mother for giving me birth.

Mothers: In my arms of love you snuggled. I love you (name), yes I love you.

Daughters: Thank you Mother for feeding me (your) milk.

Mothers: When you were a tiny baby, I spoke your name, (name)

Daughters: Thank you Mother for teaching me my name.

Mothers: Sometimes I was too tired to move when you cried in the night, but I pulled myself up and changed your diaper and cleaned your tiny little bottom.

Daughters: I love you Mother. Thank you for the warmth of your arms around me.

Grandma: Meeting my dear little baby Granddaughters Éowyn and Cosette was one of my life’s biggest joys.

Éowyn: I love you Grandma, yes I love you.

Cosette: I love you Grandma, yes I love you.

Grandma: I love you Éowyn and Cosette, yes I love you.

Mothers: Words surrounded us – you would learn new words and say them, delighting me. I would speak my words to you, and read you stories. As you told me more and more, I began learning who (name) is. I love you (name), yes I love you.

Daughters: I love you Mother, yes I love you.

Mothers: I dream for you a life of love, hope, faith, fulfillment, close, loving relationships, open doors for your dreams to be realised, deep satisfaction for your longings, comfort when you are sad, words spoken to you and by you which bind, console and comfort you as my words bind, console and comfort you.

Grandma: Jung said ‘Every mother contains her daughter in herself, and every daughter her mother, and every mother extends backwards into her mother and forwards into her daughter.’

Mothers:

(lighting a candle)

Light, life, breath, spirit, flowing into you through my body.

Daughters: Love, peace, kindness, hope…

Mothers:

(giving daughters their candle) …flow into me from knowing you.

Daughters:

(one by one) I am (name) daughter of my mother (mother’s name) daughter of my grandmother (grandmother’s name) daughter of my great grandmother…

I am woman

Made in the image of God.

Beautiful woman

Beautiful God.