I found this painting and fell in love with the name, of course, but mostly the interplay of light and shadow. I want to create my own version of it to hang on a wall somewhere in our new house, to inspire me whenever I see it to keep spreading light each day. Orange gives me energy. 🙂
Afterglow, by Seda Baghdasari
Why call the support group the Afterglow? As I went through the shadow of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety myself, the image kept coming to mind of the light that lingers after the sun sets, radiant yet casting shadows.
Expectations weigh heavy on new parents, especially the expectation to be happy all the time. Society seems to expect a mother to simply bask in the afterglow of having given birth, when actually, it can be physically traumatic; and while creating new life is an accomplishment beyond words’ ability to express, it can also leave some parents feeling like a shadow of their former selves.
The afterglow is not enough. What is required is a complete reinvention of ourselves as parents… and a continual choice to turn towards the light. No small feat!
But the afterglow is hopeful, too, for though the sun sets each night, leaving us in the dark, it also promises to rise each day, giving us hope that the light will return.
So this group is about sitting in the shadows together, taking the small but necessary bits of time to grieve their dark presence. Only by properly grieving losses can we create space to learn new tools so that we can appreciate, harness, and bask in the light again.