Let’s Figure This Out Together
I try very hard to be intentional about every decision – especially the big ones. The decision to have a child was no exception.
However, despite the intentionality behind the choice I’ve been so privileged to make, I’ve often wondered – why do I feel like I’m flailing in this role? Not when it comes to being a mother to my child and the love part. Loving my kid is easy – cheesy but so true.
Moreso with all of the other things, like:
- How quickly do I need a routine for my child? Do I need one at all?
- Does organic cotton clothing matter for my baby? …For me?
- When and how can I prioritize myself while also being a ‘good mom’?!
Day in and day out – for most of 2022, when my daughter was born – my questions and thoughts felt incessant. In between the joy of simply being with my baby, I was anxious.
Could I cap it to postpartum anxiety or was there something more at play?
My conclusion is – there were a lot more ‘somethings’ at play.
As an American-born mother, based in Chicago, with South Asian roots (hi first gen friends), I was raised in two cultures – and honestly neither of them have helped to morph me into the easygoing mother that I wish to be.
Now, I’m not blaming who I am on the entire cultures I was raised in but I do think they provide context for where and how I am – and if you think about it more, maybe your culture(s) provide that same context for you.
Understanding our foundations help us grow in the direction that we want.
All of that said, I reached a point early on in my motherhood where I knew I had to make a choice. I could let this whole phase of life happen to me. I could throw my hands up and let it be challenging and confusing. Or, I could resign myself to making choices that the world wanted me to make. Or I could do what I do best – my own research.
I opted for the last one.
Since then, I’ve used my privilege, coupled with my background (any Johns Hopkins’ Public Health alum out there?!) to empower myself to make the decisions I feel are best for my family.
In the U.S., I personally feel we’re given way too many choices. And many of our choices include pesticides, plastics, and pollution. Ugh. And yuck.
We’re in an era where there are too many choices, too many headlines, and an underwhelming focus on peoples’ health and well-being. Sure, it’s a little sad, but it brings me to my why for this blog.
For all of the misinformation and contradicting insights out there, my hope is that I’m another voice that you can add to your (fingers crossed, ever-growing) list of people and sources that try to make life and its decisions easier for you.
I want to help you:
✨Make healthy choices for you and your family
✨Find the joy in motherhood – because joy = health too
The French Part
As for the name of this blog and finding ‘joie’: well, I studied abroad in France when I was 21 without a care in the world (well, more like ‘with fewer cares’ haha). I was lighthearted in a way that, until recently, believed I could only have been because I was 21 and in France!
Now though, that’s my goal. I aspire to be more lighthearted, more easygoing. Even as I get older and life feels harder, there’s still so much joy to be had.
Cheers and welcome,
mom and joie
