From the Motherland to Motherhood: A Story Stitched in Love

Written by Maryum K Shadeed

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Motherhood doesn’t come with a blueprint just a beating heart, tired hands, and an unwavering will to give your all.

It’s the hardest, most beautiful thing I’ve ever known.

Some days I feel like I’m getting it right like the laughter, the routines, the whispered “I love yous” are enough to carry us.

Other days, I’m holding it together by a thread.

Learning to breathe. To forgive myself. To start again with tenderness.

As a single mother, I’ve worn every hat provider, protector, nurturer, disciplinarian, cheerleader, counselor.

I’ve held my child through his growing pains while pushing through my own.

And somewhere along the way, I forgot that I’m allowed to receive too.

To be held. To be celebrated. To be poured back into.

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A Return to the Source

So this year, I did something different.

Something sacred.

I traveled to Ghana the Motherland.

I walked through open-air markets, touched cloth dyed in tradition, and chose 6 yards of vibrant fabric with one thing in mind:

My son and me.

It wasn’t just a purchase.

It was an offering.

A gift from my past to our present.

A symbol of everything I want him to remember about who we are and where we come from.

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Stitching Love Into Legacy

With those 6 yards, I created pieces for both of us—by hand, by heart.

As I stitched, I thought about legacy.

About how healing can live in a thread.

About what it means to dress your child in culture, in history, in something you made with love.

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Mother’s Day in Full Color

On Mother’s Day, we wore those garments.

Draped in fabric from the land that birthed nations, on a day that honors the ones who bring life forward.

It wasn’t just about what we wore—it was what it meant.

That moment was a full-circle return.

To self. To roots. To purpose.

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This is Legacy in Motion

I want my son to know that he comes from beauty, strength, creativity, and resilience.

That his story is stitched into something so much bigger than the struggle.

That his mother chose to build joy on top of survival.

This is motherhood.

This is healing.

This is legacy in motion.

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A Message to Mothers

To every mother:

You are not alone in the stretch between sacrifice and self.

You are seen. You are sacred.

And you are worthy of joy, tradition, and moments that make you feel whole again.

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Happy Mother’s Day. From my heart to yours.

— MKS 🌹