Molten Mama
- Mel Watts~ Artspire Therapy
- Jul 10
- 4 min read
Some days, I feel as if my skin has been peeled back by time —
a tender layer of ashy molten lava, long cooled after an ancient eruption.
It's crispy.
It's tough.
A rough and hard exterior.
It glistens in the light, fooling the world with its shimmer,
yet beneath it, something aches.
Something shifts.
A metamorphosis?
Perhaps—
the slow, sacred molting of a woman becoming.
I wonder…
Am I feeling this at its deepest root?
In the marrow of my being?
Because good heavens, the itchiness—
like a hundred million microscopic ants hosting a rave under my skin.
High on chaos and caffeine, thrashing to the beat of some atom-sized DJ who clearly skipped the memo on personal space.
They dance like they've licked electric wires, a glittery, illicit party pulsing through my nerves--uninvited, uninhibited, and completely indifferent to the mayhem they leave in their wake.
No exit strategy. No guest list.
Just one wild, subterranean afterparty that forgot this body is not a dance floor.
And that’s not even the whole show.
The sounds.
The smells.
The vibrations.
The nausea.
All dialed up to 1000.
Maybe more...
My nervous system? A disco ball on fire.
These were just some of my symptoms, just yesterday.
I try.
I try my best.
I teach through the tremors.
I remind my little guys:
we are here to love each other through our best and worst.
Some days, we are not at our best—
but we can still be together, gently.
So I say:
“Mommy’s ears are a little extra spicy today.
These headphones? They’re helping me soften the world.
Can we turn our volumes down—like we do when you’re fast asleep?
Or should we stay home, and let Mommy recharge under a blanket with tea and her dopamine playlist?”
They chose the Lego store so that we can attend to the project motivating today's adventure.
So I sang my feelings in the car,
and later, dancing like a woman possessed by joy and discomfort all at once!
All the while?
They remembered a few times, reminding each other. And when they forgot, they screeched with glee in a way that felt like fireworks exploding in my eardrums. And when things got too messy, because it did, who am I kidding? It always does when our brains are growing, shifting, and evolving.
Effie had become my dance partner.
My youngest: audience member.
Then like all puppies, the energy became all too consuming.
It was just too exciting.
And you know who had my back?
You know who ran to my rescue?
It was my boys.
They showed me love, care, and compassion. What I hope to provide them when I am embodying my light and aligned with who I strive to be.
And so...
We made it.
I stayed afloat my raft!
I love them more than words can stretch.
Even when I’m strained far past breaking-
Strung tighter than nerves on a violin, long past the limits of what I can hold.
Especially then.
This… this is the work.
The work I do with them, for them, and alongside them.
You know what I realized recently?
And cue my little soliloquy that I promise will only be a small tangent.
A pocket of information that will help explain and enlighten you into the why behind the statement of what I realized recently...
It was especially after reflecting on the knowledge I obtained and am now soaking in. It was regarding the neuroscience explaining what happens in the brain during Menopause. I absolutely love and adore understanding how it is all related.
But first, can you believe that after all these years the brain has only been recently scanned to determine the effects of what is occurring in the brain? Yes!
Just in 2024, it was Dr. Lisa Misconi from Florence, Italy. What an incredible story she has too. She became a neuroscientist due to her interest in the psyche. Alzheimer's disease is where she spent her years researching due to the personal connection with her own family. Fascinating! Seriously, fascinating stuff.
If you're interested in her incredible podcast, I will link it in at the bottom of this blog.
Well, the brain scans are now showing the direct changes that are occurring in our brains.
So YES! for all those women before me, who were told:
"ITS ALL IN YOUR HEAD!"
Well, it is.
The science is now here to back it up and show it.
I'm so sorry you were ever made to feel inferior for what it was you were going through.
No one should have ever made you feel as if it were made up.
And so now, my segue has ended.
I'm back to what I realized....
Lately, I feel thirteen again—hormones whirling like storm clouds.
Welcome to Perimenopause: The Teenage Sequel
(Coming soon to a hormonal rollercoaster near you.)
Maybe that’s why my teen clients feel like soul siblings right now.
I remember that ache.
That longing.
Blasting and belting Sarah McLachlan in my childhood bedroom
after a fight with my dad,
melting into melancholic lyrics like they were balm.
And here I am again—
making playlists, setting boundaries, riding the tides.
Learning how to be the version of me
I want my children to remember—
not perfect, but evolving.
Not silent, but attuned.
Not immune to fire,
but learning how to dance with it—without burning the whole house down.
The hope?
The dream?
They too can develop engaging and enriching ways to create more peaceful futures for themselves--for their loved ones.
Time will tell...
Time will tell!
With love,
Mel Watts
The Rich Roll Podcast- featuring Dr. Lisa Misconi:
