Spin Cycles and Starting Over

It had been years since I stepped foot in a laundromat. The hum of machines, the smell of detergent in the air, and the rhythmic thump-thump of tumbling clothes brought back a flood of memories I didn't expect.

There I was, standing in the doorway of a place I once knew well - back when quarters were tight and time was even tighter. Back before I became "mom," before I got used to Stainless Steel appliances and fabric softener with names like "Fresh Linen" and "Cashmere Breeze." Life sure has a way of spinning you around just like the machines in that laundromat. And when the cycle ends, sometimes you find yourself somewhere you never thought you would return.

Now let me pause and add to this: my children had never been to a laundromat before. And let me tell you, it was as if they had just entered Disney World. One of them tried to open a dryer mid-spin like he was checking on a batch of cookies. The other kept asking where the soap goes like we were mixing a science experiment. If I'm being honest, I let them run with it. We turned our laundry day into a full blown adventure. It was loud, it was chaotic, but it was also beautiful. In the middle of starting over, I realized I wasn't going back to the woman I was before - I was building something new with my children beside me.

Motherhood has a way of convincing us that we are only doing well if everything looks put together. A clean house, happy children and a partner who gets it. A career that does not suffer. Edges laid and emotions hidden behind a soft smile and a good concealer. But what happens when things fall apart? When relationships change, finances shift, or you simply look in the mirror one day and don't recognize the woman staring back? That is when the real work begins. The work of finding your way back - not to who you used to be, but to the woman you were always meant to become.

Back in that laundromat, I sat on the hard plastic chair, watching my clothes spin, and I thought: This is what starting over looks like for me. It is not glamorous. It is not curated. It is real. Starting over means letting go of shame. It means asking for help. It means giving yourself permission to be a beginner again. Whether you are a first-time mom, a single mom, a divorced mom, a mom figuring out her next chapter - you are still worthy. Still whole and Still Powerful. And sometimes, the spin cycle is just the reset we didn't know we needed.

The truth about rebuilding is that the map is being drawn as you walk it. There is no blueprint. There are days it will feel like two steps forward and then ten steps back. But in the midst of that uncertainty, you'll find a new kind of strength. One that knows peace does not come from perfection - it comes from presence

So, to every mama reading this who's figuring it out, who is starting over, who is washing the stains out and still showing up with love: I see you. You are not behind. You are not broken. You are becoming. Sometimes you just need to sit still, let things spin, and trust that when the cycle ends, you will be one step closer to the woman you were meant to be. Keep going mama, Even there at the laundromat you are still that classy mom.