Sunday Notes: A Mother Who Kept Loving Anyway

Happy Sunday evening my dear family and friends,

Thank you for taking a moment to sit with me and reflect. I love our Sunday Notes together. This time means so much to me, and I wanted to say thank you for being here.

Tonight, as I was choosing a photo for a letter I wrote to all mothers over on my Substack page, I came across one of me and my boys when they were very young. For most of their lives, this photo carried a heaviness for me — not because of the moment itself, but because of a hurtful comment spoken over it long ago. A comment that made me shrink, that made me feel small, that tried to stain something sacred.

Some photos stay with us longer than others. Some hold more than a memory — they hold the woman we were, the battles we never named, the love that carried us through.

For years, this photo did that for me.

But tonight… I see something different.

I see a woman who kept loving anyway. I see tenderness that refused to harden. I see strength that didn’t roar — it whispered, it endured, it stayed.

And maybe that’s why I’m sharing this with you on this quiet Sunday night.

Because so many of us have photos like this — moments frozen in time where we were loving with everything we had, even when no one saw the cost of that love.

If you’ve ever looked back at a younger version of yourself and felt shame, or sadness, or the sting of someone else’s judgment… I pray you look again. There is a strength in you that deserves to be reclaimed.

Tonight’s full letter — the deeper story behind this photo — is now on Substack. If your heart needs it, you can read it here:

👉 https://lovelifewithdawna.substack.com (lovelifewithdawna.substack.com)

https://lovelifewithdawna.substack.com/p/i-used-to-see-the-hurt-in-this-image?r=8ad3ia

Tonight, as we say goodnight to another wonderful weekend, I hope you can lay your head on your pillow with a little more tenderness and compassion for the woman you are.

If you are already in that season of life where you are confident in who you are and who you’ve always been, keep going, keep growing and never let anyone turn your light off.

You are worthy. You are beautiful and you deserve to be honored for being the woman you are.

“I’m grateful to walk this journey with you.”

Until next time my dear family and friends,

Don’t forget:

Love Life++ Hugs,

Dawna 🦋 may the butterflies remind you that we are all still becoming