A Love Unyielding: A Tribute to Foster Mothers Who Have Loved and Lost


In the quiet spaces where heartbeats resonate and emotions flow unbridled, there lies a sanctuary of unuttered words and silent prayers for the mothers whose arms are achingly empty and whose hearts are burdened with an insurmountable weight of loss. This is a tribute, not defined by blood or biology but etched in the eternal echoes of a love profound and unwavering, to foster mothers who have loved and lost.


When a child, not born of your body but unquestionably born of your heart, graces your life, an unspoken covenant of love is forged. In the tender moments where smiles are exchanged, and in the silence of nights rocked by soft breaths and dreams untold, love in its purest form emerges - relentless and unyielding.


This love is not quantified by time. It doesn’t measure the journey in days or years but in the unuttered words, the silent laughs, the tears unshed, and the silent yet profound echoes of a soul connection. Foster mothers know this love, a love that transcends paperwork, legalities, and societal definitions. It is born in the silent spaces where souls speak and hearts listen.


And so, when loss, cruel and untimely, claws into this sacred space, the world trembles. Grief, overwhelming and consuming, isn’t just an emotion but a journey, long, uncharted, and fraught with the echoing silence of a love lost yet eternal. The child, a soul, a heartbeat, becomes an everlasting echo in the quiet spaces where love resides.


But remember, amidst this devastating silence, the echoes of your unyielding love linger. Every smile, every touch, every silent prayer has been a symphony of love that danced gracefully to the tender rhythm of a child’s heartbeat. Even in loss, especially in loss, this love is a testament to the eternal bond between a mother and a child, unbound by biology, unrestrained by time.


In the solitude of grief where shadows linger, remember the collective embrace of those who have walked this path, those who understand that love isn’t defined by time or biology but by the soul-stirring echoes of heartbeats in harmony. You are not alone. In the silence, in the echoes, we stand together, a testament to a love unyielding, a love eternal.


To the foster mothers who have loved and lost, your journey, marked by the silent echoes of an everlasting love, is seen, is heard, and is honored. In the quiet spaces where words fail and emotions flood, know that you are enveloped in the silent yet profound echoes of shared understanding, communal grief, and unwavering support.


In the end, it’s not the duration but the depth of love that defines us, a love unyielding, echoing eternal amidst the silence of loss.


This tribute is lovingly dedicated to my longest friend, Von, a woman of unparalleled strength, grace, and compassion. In the silent echoes of grief and the resonating chords of love, your spirit, unyielding and resplendent, paints a portrait of maternal love that transcends the confines of time and space.


And to baby Winter, whose fleeting yet profound presence graced our world with a light as radiant as the first dawn of spring. Each breath, each heartbeat, a sonnet of love, eternally woven into the tapestry of our lives. In the hushed whispers of the wind and the silent echoes of the stars, your spirit dances, forever free, forever loved.


In the garden of memory, where love blooms eternal and loss casts its shadow, Von and Winter, your journey, deeply personal yet universally resonant, illuminates the path of unyielding love amidst the silent echoes of loss. Forever entwined, forever remembered.

Niki



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Happens When You Finally Listen to Your Body

Image
  What Happens When You Finally Listen to Your Body By Niki Gent There’s a voice we’ve been taught to ignore. It’s not loud. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t use clever language. But it’s always talking. Whispering, humming, sometimes screaming — through tight shoulders, shallow breathing, racing thoughts, clenched jaws, aching backs, insomnia. It’s the voice of the body. And most of us only start to hear it when it’s too late. In my work, I sit with people every day who are exhausted, anxious, disconnected — from themselves, their work, their families. They talk about burnout, about hitting a wall, about losing motivation. And more often than not, they’ll say something like: “I thought I was fine… until I wasn’t.” The truth is, their body had been trying to tell them the truth for months — sometimes years. But we live in a culture that values output over embodiment. We’re told to keep going, keep working, keep coping, keep serving — even as our bodies quietly begin to unravel. So what...
Read more

Why Staff Don’t Burn Out — They Break Down Quietly

Image
  Why Staff Don’t Burn Out — They Break Down Quietly Burnout is rarely an explosion. It is more like a slow leak. Most people don’t even realise they’re burning out until they’re knee-deep in emotional exhaustion, disengagement, or a quiet resentment that builds over time. In community services, this is especially dangerous. Our work involves holding space for the trauma and chaos of others. And without careful attention, we can absorb it. The signs are subtle: the staff member who used to speak up at meetings now avoids eye contact. The worker who loved going the extra mile now only does what’s required. The colleague who was always calm under pressure now seems tired, snappy, and emotionally unavailable. These aren’t isolated behaviours. They are indicators of a slow, steady internal collapse. What we call burnout is often the result of years of unmet emotional needs, chronic overfunctioning, and organisational cultures that reward performance over wellness. And by the time it su...
Read more

What I’ve Learned About Leadership from Sitting in Silence With People in Crisis

Image
  What I’ve Learned About Leadership from Sitting in Silence With People in Crisis By Niki Gent In this work, I’ve sat with people during their darkest hours — in crisis meetings, hospital rooms, after disclosure, in the aftermath of grief. I’ve witnessed unbearable pain that had no language. And I’ve come to understand something very clearly: real leadership is forged in silence, not speeches. It’s in those heavy, unspoken moments — when there are no solutions, no quick fixes, no perfect words — that we see who we really are as leaders. Because when someone is falling apart in front of you, and all your training disappears, and there’s nothing left to offer but your presence — what you choose to do next is leadership. Too often, we think leadership is about having the answer, setting the vision, taking control. And yes, those things matter. But the most transformational leaders I’ve known are the ones who can sit in the discomfort of not knowing. Who don’t interrupt someone’s bre...
Read more