When you regain your purse, you reclaim your identity

That’s possibly a slight exaggeration, but I do feel like when you are in the diaper bag phase, the word purse is completely foreign…who the hell cares about a purse when you’ve got a backpack that hold blankets, diapers, toys, burp cloths, band aids, boogies wipes, water bottles, sippy cups, and a lot of cr*ap that you realize you don’t need as soon as your second child comes along. But I was totally that mom. I loved my diaper bag. Adored my first one, it was light pink (way before blush was back in style) and from Britain, and I saw stars when I looked at it. Truly.

Well fast forward a few years. I never thought I’d see the light of (purse) day again, but I have. In the span of 5 years, I’ve moved from diaper bag, to diaper backpack, to backpack, to purse/backpack, to a small crossbody! OMG. I never thought this day would come.

It’s light weight. It’s dainty. It’s feminine. Oh, and it’s pink – blush pink to be exact. Love knows no boundaries in this area of my life it seems. I pranced around with my new, dainty, crossbody, proudly displaying that I had moved into a new stage of life. I talked about it sto much that a fellow preschool mom decided she also had to have it and purchased it in black! (We both still love them.)

So yes, moral of the story is that sometimes we lose our identities in motherhood. We don’t mean to, in fact, we don’t want to. But the daily tasks of nursing, diapering, feeding, mothering, and raising children is all consuming. In many ways, it’s amazing, and glorious, and we love it. But at the same time, we yearn for a short break, a chance to be our pre-motherhood selves (just not as self absorbed and selfish!) Motherhood is a journey, a journey that I am really just starting. My experience is mostly sleep training, temper taming, and potty training….And because my kids are only 5 and 3 years old, I am also *just* re-entering purse life. Diapers and nursing is a thing of the past for me, a nostalgic memory for now (who knows what the future holds, though, right?!) In fact, I still have that beautiful pink diaper bag in the back of my closet to remind me of when my daughter was a sweet little 8 pound screamer with rosebud lips.

But as I move into this next stage of motherhood, with preschool drop offs, tantrums, and way less stuff, I’m also reclaiming some of what I lost about myself in those early years. I have more time to get things done, to remember my hobbies and interests, to incorporate fitness into my daily routine. And as a result, I have more interest in a cute purse that only carries my wallet, keys, lip gloss and phone. As my kids have come into their own identities, I have begun to reclaim mine – through something as simple as a pink crossbody purse. Click here to purchase.