To All the Moms—Thank You, From One Who Just Became One

Six months into this wild, beautiful, messy, heart-bursting journey called motherhood, I find myself in awe—utterly changed and deeply grateful.

This Mother’s Day hits differently. It’s the first one where I’m not just celebrating my mom or the incredible mothers around me—I'm also feeling, for the first time, what it means to be a mom. And wow… just, wow.

My mind lately is a foggy swirl of baby giggles, night feedings, hormone swings, and to-do lists that never quite get done. But beneath the “mom brain,” there's a louder, deeper voice that just keeps whispering: thank you.

Thank you to every mom who came before me.

Thank you to the moms raising babies beside me.

And thank you especially to my own mom.

Because now I get it.

The way your body becomes a vessel, your mind a fortress, your heart a bottomless well.

The way you can feel joy and grief in the same moment.

The way you give, and give, and give—until giving becomes just part of your DNA.

No book, no class, no advice could’ve prepared me for the emotional landslide that is becoming a mother. It’s not just a title—it’s a spiritual transformation. Your body changes, yes. But so does your soul. You start seeing the world with a new lens, your priorities rewired, your love deepened in ways you didn’t even know existed.

I look at my babies and I feel it all: the fierce protectiveness, the doubt, the love so big it scares me. And suddenly I understand what my mom must’ve felt—what all moms feel—every time they held us, soothed us, sacrificed for us.

So this Mother's Day, I just want to say:

To the moms doing their best even when it feels like they’re falling short,

To the moms navigating healing—physically, mentally, emotionally,

To the moms who make magic out of ordinary days,

To the moms who love quietly, fiercely, and without conditions,

You are superheroes.

You are sacred.

You are seen.

You are deeply, deeply appreciated.

Happy Mother’s Day from one teary, sleep-deprived, deeply grateful new mom to all of you.

With love and awe,

Erica Hood