Dear Heartlifter

Hello there!

“A mother is a person, and motherhood is a season. But mothering is a verb, a movement, an action not bound by body shape or type, not bound by role or gender. To mother someone is to protect and nurture them, to care for and challenge them, to love. What if it’s all any of us really want? To have our fears be seen and comforted, to have someone take a chance so we can have life, to be in the presence of someone who knows us and loves us in kind. To mother is to go first, to go last, to go with, and to stay behind.”

–Emily P. Freeman, Mothering, from The Peace Collection on the Quiet App

I’m Janell, your professional heartlifting guide on this mothering journey.

At the beginning of 2025, I felt compelled to dedicate this year to “Mothering For the Ages.”

As an avid idiom lover, I found “for the ages” and felt it was the perfect way to frame our desire to be good moms, grandmoms, and caregivers who mother those in our spheres of influence.

“For the ages” is an idiom that means something memorable, noteworthy, or impressive and will be remembered or admired for a long time.

I mothered three children who are now in their mid to late thirties.

I can’t believe I just typed that. THEY ARE IN THEIR THIRTIES!

Now, I am a grandmother to five.

I’ve changed so much since I brought my firstborn into the world.

In this space, I share the ups, downs, and in-betweens of my mothering and now grandmothering journey.

I invite you to join me.

Mothering is the Most Important Influence of All

We live in a culture inundated with Influencers.

All social media platforms allow anyone to share their wares, and I’m good with that. Their presence can be helpful.

But it can also be overwhelming and attention-sucking. I get sucked into the Influencer Vortex daily.

I pray that this space, right here, and over on Heartlift Central on Substack, is a place and space that invites you to invest well-spent time and energy on the most important sphere of influence ever: Mothering.