“Just look at her nestled against her mom! I could cry for days.” Samantha Johnson, a writer, speaker, and mom of three, penned one of the most emotional posts about motherhood you’ll ever read. It blew up on Facebook, and for good reason—it’s pure magic. Grab those tissues, folks!
She shares, “Here I am in a hospital room in 2002, only five hours after giving birth to my second child, Liam. My older kids came to meet him and crawled into bed with me. I stumbled upon this photo yesterday and couldn’t help but shed tears for every little one in this moment.”
Samantha reminisces about her then two-year-old Emma, who believed she was the new baby’s mom and was heartbroken when she wasn’t allowed to hold him. “She was still in diapers and had just been kicked out of her crib because a new little boss named Liam had arrived.”
“Look at her snuggled into her mom! I could cry forever.” Ugh, same here.
Then there’s her eldest, Noah, who had just turned four and was “the happiest, sunniest little guy.” She reflects on how tiny he was, with a vocabulary that was surprisingly big, all while their family transitioned from four to five. “I must have kissed him a thousand times a day.”
“The tears for my babies come quickly. I can feel how they would lean against me, their soft, fluffy hair brushing my cheek. I can remember how they felt in my arms. Those moments were my joy. I can barely look at their faces now without feeling overwhelmed.” Ouch. That hits deep for this mom of two kids in elementary school. Each day, their faces seem to shed a bit more of their baby charm, edging closer to adulthood. It’s a bittersweet experience I never anticipated when they were just tiny bundles of joy. Back when I was so exhausted I’d do anything for a moment to breathe, yet now, my heart aches—Samantha totally understands.
“But most of my tears are for that young mama,” she continues. “At 27, just five hours out from giving birth to her third child in four years, she was sore and fatigued but still found the strength to gather her big kids to cuddle and read so they knew they were still her universe.”
Describing those years of chaotic love is challenging, but Samantha nails it beautifully. No matter how drained you feel at the end of the day—even after childbirth—your little ones still need you. And while it’s exhausting in the moment, looking back as a mom with older kids, those days are incredibly precious.
Samantha paints a picture of bringing her three little ones home, foreseeing the hard work that lay ahead. “There was never enough of her to go around, but bless her heart, she gave it her all.”
She turns to “the young mamas” out there. “I see you. I remember.”
Samantha recalls the days of nursing, changing diapers, and the challenges of taking three kids to the store—where everyone would comment on how full her hands were.
But above all, she remembers the worry. “The world can feel like a scary place, ready to endanger your babies, and you alone bear the responsibility to keep them safe from choking hazards and bullies. You might even imagine driving your car into a lake with them all strapped into their seats—trust me, I thought about that more times than I can count!”
Even though that worry can consume you in those early days, it’s essential to recognize that you’re actually doing a wonderful job at motherhood simply by loving them. That’s the message Samantha wants to share with her younger self and the mothers navigating this journey right now: “You are doing a breathtaking, beautiful job. Your children are so loved, and they know it.”
While you’re running on fumes, you’re creating a foundation of love that lasts a lifetime. “They are safe with you, cherished completely. It’s not about one grand gesture; it’s in the million moments of love you share with them. All your mistakes and freak-outs won’t matter in the end. You’re raising secure, loved kids, and it will make a difference. It lasts. It sticks. It’s the very air they breathe from their first day in the hospital, and that love can’t be undone.”
Samantha wraps up with a message of encouragement that every new mom needs to hear: “There isn’t much downtime, but everything you do matters, and you matter. This work is invaluable. I’m cheering for you from the other side. I’ve got your back. You’re going to make it!”
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In summary, Samantha’s heartfelt reflections on motherhood capture the chaos, love, and worry that come with raising little ones. Her words remind us that even in the toughest moments, the love we give shapes our children’s lives forever.