Me Time minutes: ep 2

In this episode, we’re talking about the pressure so many moms feel to "bounce back"—to reclaim the person they were before motherhood. But here’s the truth: you’re not meant to go back. You’re meant to grow.

Molly shares honest reflections on identity, transformation, and why the “new you” deserves just as much love and respect—if not more—than the old you.

Whether you’re a new mama or years into the journey, this is your reminder that becoming a mother doesn’t mean losing yourself. It means evolving into someone even more powerful.

In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

Why you’re not meant to “bounce back” to your pre-mom self

The beauty and strength in your evolution

A simple journaling prompt to connect with your new identity

Encouragement to honor your growth, not resist it

Let’s Stay Connected:
💻 www.mamaneedsmetime.com
📸 Instagram: @mamaneeds.metime
📬 Join the Mom Squad Community for exclusive support and coaching

Share this episode with a fellow mom who needs a gentle reminder that she’s not alone in this evolution 💛

Transcript

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On today's episode, we're talking about the idea of getting back to the old you and why it is so outdated. Hey, welcome to me time, minutes, your quick self-care boost and honest mom conversation in the middle of a busy week, because even a few minutes of me time can change everything. Let's dive in. All right. Let me ask you a question. It's probably gonna hit home. How often have you or heard someone, or even you, yourself have said, I just wanna get back to who I was before I had kids. Right. I've heard it a million times and it's because maybe that version of you felt more confident, you felt more productive, more carefree. You got to take naps. You could sleep in on the weekends. So like it all makes sense. Becoming a mom is such a massive shift. But here's the truth, and I really want you to plant this little seed in your heart and let it flourish. You are not meant to go back. You are meant to grow and evolve. So hear me out. Motherhood in its entirety, cracks you open. It rearranges literally every part of you, your priorities. It reshapes your sense of time, and it deepens your emotional understanding with the possibility of also increasing your emotional intelligence. It's also insanely traumatic. It brings the most breathtakingly beautiful moments of joy. And the most overwhelming stress you are ever going to have, oftentimes in the same hour. And the woman who comes out of that experience, she's resilient, she's resourceful, she's gonna be tired, and there are gonna be days that she. Feels like there's no up or down and the world is on a tilt, but that woman is also so incredibly fierce and empowered that she is unstoppable. I really wanna stop romanticizing the past version of ourselves, and we need to move into this era of embracing who we are and how we've grown. Every single one of you listening to this. You lived through that pandemic. We have all been through a crazy amount of unprecedented events, and it's time for us to start recognizing what we've accomplished with that. The old, you didn't know what you were capable of. They didn't know how far you could stretch yourself physically or emotionally. The old, you didn't have the wisdom that you carry with you now. It's not about losing ourselves, and I think that that's the part of the conversation that needs to change. We didn't lose ourselves. We lost. I don't even wanna say lost. We shifted directions, we jumped onto a different path. Our path was blocked. We weren't growing anymore, we weren't going anywhere. We jumped onto a different path that led us into a different realm. If we wanna get all fantasy about it, we're. Growing into the next version of ourselves, we're growing into a more mature and understanding and leadership role. Think of it as a job. You're moving from middle management up to the CEO, like CTO, whatever you wanna be. You're moving up into a power position, and yes, you're gonna miss certain things. I miss being able to go get margaritas. Whenever I wanted. You're gonna miss that. Freedom and spontaneity. We all know you're gonna miss the sleep'cause we all do. But you're also gaining so much the perspective, the purpose, the gift. I absolutely understand that motherhood is hard every day and I. One of my favorite books recently was How To Slay Your Dragon by Catherine Winch, and she'd summed it up so beautifully by saying Every day that you are parenting a child is like the first day of a new job. It's like the first day because it's the first day that your child is. Three years, four months, and 15 days. It is the first day that you are a mom of three years, four months, and 15 days, and we need to start embracing it. It doesn't get easier. The hard just changes. And so yes, you can absolutely go back to hobbies you enjoy. I've done that myself. I've picked things up. Let them go, pick them up again. Let them go again. You can do those things, but it's this desire. To move back to a place where you didn't fully know yourself, you didn't fully understand what you were capable of, to have that freedom, the spontaneity, all of that back, you can have it, but with a different understanding of what that means. This is in no way, shape, or form telling you to limit yourself. You should be asking for more constantly from your support network, from the people around you. If your needs are not getting met, you need to tell them. You shouldn't be afraid to say, I don't have time for that. That is not what I'm interested in doing. Because you have done incredible things since you were in your early twenties or teens, whenever you had kids. You have done incredible things since then. You have been through incredible moments. I want you to think about the first time that your child was sick and you had no idea how to navigate it, and what did you do? You called in the troops. You called your mom, you called the doctor, you called your aunt, you called your grandma. You called anyone. You could think of that first time your child is sick. I know the first time we had the flu after my son was born, we all had it and it was a dire situation. All hands on deck, but we made it through. So one thing I want you to think about, and you can journal about this or mentally check in with yourself, what parts of you have changed for the better since becoming a mom? Write it down. Say it out loud. Think about it. What part of me has changed for the better? Since becoming a mom, this is how we start to reclaim our stories and reclaim who we are. Because girl, you don't need to bounce back. You don't need to get back to who you were. You deserve to move forward with that compassion, strength, self-appreciation, and self love. Thanks for listening to my rant today, and thanks for spending a few minutes of time for yourself. All right. That's it. That's your me time minute. If this resonated with you, make sure to follow. Mama needs me time on Instagram and Facebook, and join our community for more support. And remember, you're worth every bit of rest that you can get. See you next time.