This episode isn’t one of our usual Conversations, but the first of a series of what we call Reflections, in which we embrace the ever-present opportunity to find gratitude for all mothers—perfect and imperfect, absent and present, received and chosen, familial and spiritual, God Mothers and step mothers. Carly reflects on her own difficult but beautiful relationship as a daughter and as a mother; the wild love, the raw edges, the big, vulnerable truths. And then: A special Infinite Crescendo Microjourney crafted from Carly’s own lullaby for her girls layered with voices from the community, sharing from the heart. It’s a gift, in audio form, and it’s meant to guide you toward whatever it is you might like to affirm, expand, shift, or hold as your own experience with the mothers surrounding you and the mother within.