Vessel Collection - Motherhood & Boundaries - I am that person.

 

Vessel Collection

Motherhood & Boundaries   (VERSION ONE)

I am that person —

the one who filled my children’s vessels.

When theirs emptied,

I filled them.

A bit more,

a top up,

just enough to spill over the edge.

Did I cause the mental health issues?

Was I too much?

Did I do enough?

Did my diagnosed ND effect my children.

And now, as adults,

they spill out again —

a heavy stone dropping in from above,

and I rush in with positivity,

with fixing,

with rescuing,

with saving —

and the water just sloshes over the sides.

I need to stop being that person.

Let their water spill out.

Let their vessels be filled

by themselves.

Let them be them.

Do not fill anyone’s vessel.

Stop.

Stop filling everyone’s vessel.

Don’t be the jug of water.

Be the empty cup.

And here’s the irony —

I’ve always said

“a cup half empty.”

But maybe half empty

is the only way

to leave room

to be topped up.

Not constantly full.

If my love keeps filling their vessels,

how will they ever learn

to love themselves?

How will they ever grow

the confidence I have?

Why did I think my love

needed to extend

to constantly filling

everybody else’s vessel?

Footnote: I got the metaphor wrong.

In my world “cup half full” meant positive,

and “half empty” meant failure —

but now I know half empty is capacity,

breathing space, room for me.

Blurb

A collection of poems, metaphors, and lived wisdom about being a vessel in the world — not overflowing, not performing fullness, but learning the art of capacity. These pieces explore the truth that every vessel needs breathing space, and that half empty isn’t lack; it’s room to live.

Do Not Fill to the Top

Poems and life lessons about overflow, overwhelm, and the beauty of leaving room. A collection for anyone who has ever mistaken “full” for “fine.”