Hi, I'm Emilia Isabelle

The Strength in Showing Up

Parenting alone isn’t just a chapter in my life. It’s a whole book and has been for 2 years and counting. It’s messy, raw, exhausting, and heroic (but without the cool cape and recognition). It’s the countless nights when your body struggles to put one foot in front of the other but your child still needs you. It’s the impossible calendar filled with school events, work deadlines, foodshops, bath time, commitments to social activities with friends, personal health and wellness (reminder: must eat, must drink) and somehow, still finding time to lay your weary head at night. Oh, and that’s not even mentioning the thousand loads of washing and keeping the house clean. Not only all that, it’s also the emotional rollercoaster of loving so deeply while wondering, am I doing enough? Am I good enough?

Note to self: one person is not two . And that doesn’t mean failure. It’s simply reality.

When you’re navigating parenthood alone, you’re the comforter, disciplinarian, provider, nurse, chauffeur, chef, and often the only person clapping in the audience at the school play- while answering work emails from your phone. You can’t split tasks or opt out. It’s you, all the time, every waking hour. And still, you show up. That alone is more than you are giving yourself credit for.

Equally there are some days, showing up doesn’t look like patience. It doesn’t sound like a calm voice. It feels like raised voices about things you normally have patience for but by Friday you’re burnt the fuck out and the patience ship has sailed. It’s cereal for dinner, or crying on the drive in to work because it is the only quiet moment of release you’ll get.

You are human.

There is no perfection. There is presence. And that matters so much more.
You will forget things. You will snap. You will feel the burn of guilt after long days. But you will also witness resilience blooming in your child, and all of that is because of you. They see you try. They see you love. They see you get up and keep going even on the days you struggle to muster up the energy. They know you show up, even when it’s hard.

Balancing work and parenting solo is its own brand of chaos. The emails that pile up whilst you’re at taekwando on a Wednesday night. The calls you make to book in for your smear test in between drop-offs and going to work. The deep sigh before walking into a meeting, pretending like you didn’t just wipe tears from your own eyes after a tough morning at home. And still, you press on.

There are tireless nights. Sometimes you wonder if the return is worth the effort. But then, out of nowhere, a laugh about toilet humour, a request for a hug, a whispered “I love you” or “You’re the best” Those are your rewards. Small, shining treasures born from the hard days. Proof that your love is taking root.

So to every parent doing it alone: grace is not something you give only to your child. It belongs to you, too.

You don’t have to do it all to be doing a phenomenal job. You’re not weak for struggling. You’re powerful for continuing. For loving hard even when your fuel tank is in the red. For continuing to be the stability in your child’s life when everything else is going wonky.

And if no one has told you today, or any other day: you are doing enough. You are enough. Keep showing up.