When the world around you is falling apart, dear mama, you carry on.

Whether you lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling and grappling with the enormity of that which has become reality, or you collapse into bed, weary to the bone and you fall asleep so instantly and deeply that when the morning comes you can’t remember a moment of the nightmares you know you had, you carry on.

When it all feels like too much, you must still carry on.

But when it all feels like too much, know that it is because it is too much.

You were not meant to feel this sad.

What you are going through now is just too much. Though you are a warrior, you are also a human.

To the mother at the border whose child was ripped from her arms:

You heard a story about a promise. A distant promise that somewhere life could be safer, better. And if you could only get there, with your family, that promise could be yours—but more importantly, your child’s. So you followed it.

But this was not the story you were told.

You don’t want to hear now that you are not alone because the loneliness you feel in the pit of your soul is deeper than any grief you ever thought imaginable. You are held in your solitude, in your grief with only four words to keep you company: Where is my baby?

Though you are a warrior, you are also just a human. And this is too much.

To the mother who bears witness to the horror and feels powerless to stop it:

You scroll furiously through your feed for updates and information, even though it makes you nauseous and dizzy. You think, if a mother must be apart from her child tonight, the least I can do is cry into the void with her, to make her a tiny, tiny bit less alone.

You donated. You wrote and called your senators and representatives. You spoke up to the misinformed and defended those who cannot defend themselves.

But it doesn’t feel like even close to enough.

You hug your babies and you weep with sorrow and guilt, with four words gnawing at your heart: I. Must. Do. More.

Though you are a warrior, you are also just a human. And this too much.

To all the mothers who feel like the world is a lonely place right now:

You are not alone in your aloneness.

It may feel like we are worlds apart, but we all share something in common: our all-consuming love for our children. And the love we have for our own children unites us in love with each others’ children.

We’re in this together.

And that is why we must carry on.

So, to the mama in the midst of what feels like a crumbling world:

Rest. Take a breath. Have a meal. Allow yourself a moment of gentleness.

And when you are ready, stand back up and carry on.

Carry on knowing that the world is fighting for you and with you.

Carry on loving your child beyond measure.

Carry on in grace and grit.

Carry on because you matter.

And know that we will make this better. We may just be humans, but we mama-humans are warriors.

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