03/12/2025
At 6ft2 tall I used to apologise a lot,
Sorry for blocking your view, sorry for bumping into you as I try to fold my legs into a plane seat. Always trying to take up less space.
It's funny how we learn to shrink ourselves. To be smaller, quieter or easier to live alongside.
Motherhood seems to intensify this habit. Mums apologise for everything:
Sorry the house is a mess
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner
Sorry I forgot it's the kids Christmas jumper day
Sometimes our hearts ache for the way we want to apologise to these precious overwhelming kids of ours:
'I'm sorry I can't be the mum I wish I was for you right now'
But our children learn their self worth by watch ours in action. When we constantly say sorry for the beautifully complex women we are, with real needs, we teach our children that their needs and mistakes are shameful worthy too.
Let's notice next time we minimise our exhaustion or over apologise.What if instead of saying sorry we say:
'Thank you for understanding my limits'
Or
'I did my best and I'm still learning'
Let this crazy season be the one where we stop apologising for who we are and start saying what we need.
A woman who does so has nothing to apologise for.
