She is an Only Child by Choice

Toward the middle of December, I started looking at my new World Wildlife Fund calendar, and I put a notation for my daughter’s birthday in mid-January. It is an obviously impactful day, and comes just six days before my own birthday. I sat down to journal with my spirit guide Holly, and the birth of my only child was the focus of Holly’s message.

Holly: Have you ever noticed ways you’ve made decisions that later suited your high sensitivities perfectly? You were married 7 1/2 years before you had your daughter. You were a teacher at the time, and others would ask you why you didn’t have any children, after all, you were so great with their children. But what they didn’t know was that you were highly sensitive and intense. Working with a classroom full of children was depleting to your nervous system.

And then, 42 years ago, on 1-11, at 1:01 a.m., your sweet child was born. You had been right to wait 7 1/2 years to become a mother. You had a solid and loving marriage, a great teaching position, and being a new mom and teacher was indeed challenging to your nervous system. This would have been even harder at a younger age.

Some of the greatest highs and lows in this life of yours have been as a mom: the lows of a precious child being seriously ill in intensive care, and the highs of her incredible capacity for love and compassion for others.

As the years went by, and there were no new additions to your family, the questions of “why only one child” were directed your way. You and your husband knew that one child was a good fit for your sensitivities and intensities. Many people will judge you according to their own life experiences and their view of what is “normal.” But you had an understanding that the judgments of others would not drive your decision-making on an issue as life-changing as mothering.

So here you are, and here she is, 42 years later, still a loving and compassionate daughter. Your ability to know your own emotional and psychological limits helped your only daughter create her sister-like friendships that have supported her throughout her life.

She is now the mother of her own family of two precious children. She loves them as much as you love her, and she has invited you and your husband to share in the love of her small family. Your ability to determine what would be healthy and nourishing for you has paid a lifetime of dividends.

We will encourage our readers to realize all the opportunities they have to make meaningful choices that are both healthy and helpful to their personal and spiritual growth. If you are able to see yourself as a unique being, you will see you do not need to be guided by what others see as normal. When you stand in your own truth, you celebrate that uniqueness. Soul Bridge Coaching and Holly, January 11, 2022