Along with a lot of wisdom, Donna Ramsbottom shared stories with us about the sense of joy and purpose raising children has given her, and how motherhood has helped her reconnect with her cultural background. Let’s get to know her.   How has your relationship with your daughters changed over the years? It has become more of a friendship. I love that they call me Donna and not Mom. There came a point in my life where my parent-years turned off and I wouldn't answer when they were calling me Mom. So they just started calling me Donna. It works. I really appreciate that my daughters listen to me, and I've learned to listen to them. They've taught me a lot, especially how to be carefree. To just live and not worry. Do you have any favourite stories about your kids? Doran was a competitive swimmer. She swam on the national team. When she was a baby and I was swimming laps in the pool, her dad was walking her along the edge of the pool, and she let go of his hand and jumped in the water. Her dad tapped me on the head and said, “You better go get your daughter.” I found her sitting at the very bottom of the pool, the deep end, like a little Buddha looking up at me. She was holding her breath and everything. She was only about a year old when that happened. So from then on, I made sure she knew how to float. How did your life change when you became a mother? It brought me so much joy and purpose. I just had so much fun. I got to be a little girl again, and I got to teach them everything I felt I missed out on. It's the best thing in the world. Motherhood brings out the best and teaches you so many things.    It's the best thing in the world. Motherhood brings out the best and teaches you so many things. Earlier you mentioned you didn’t learn much about your cultural background when you were growing up. How did you teach your children about their heritage?  My dad was part Native and, growing up, I was told not to tell anybody that. So most of my life I've had to keep everything hidden. When I had my daughters, I wanted them to know all the stories that my dad had told. I wanted them to know he was part Native and that he taught me how to hunt, trap, and track. He taught me how to live off the land in the wild—what fruits to boil and what berries to pick. And also how to use herbs to get rid of poison ivy and things like that. So when my children were little, I started taking them to the beach or for walks in the bush to show them things in the wild.  One day when we were up north, I showed them rabbit tracks in the snow, and my baby—who was only about three or four—was standing on top of the snow and she started following the rabbit tracks into the forest and I had to go and catch her, but I sunk up to my waist in the snow while she was just walking on top of the drifts. It was pretty fun. Doran was always worrying that Charlotte was going to get lost in the bush. Why was it important to you to share that cultural history with your daughters? I had felt so much shame back then, and I'm going to cry right now because I felt like I wasn't part of my friends or part of the world. Now I'm so proud that I can say I have a little bit of Indigenous love in me, and I’m very grateful for the community it has brought. I'm learning things. I go to powwows now and that has been such an amazing, peaceful, wholesome fulfilling experience.   Now I'm so proud that I can say I have a little bit of Indigenous love in me, and I’m very grateful for the community it has brought.  We thought it would be fun to get to know Donna even further by interviewing her daughter, Doran Reed. What we discovered was a pretty special relationship based on life advice, fashion advice, singing in the car, and hiking through the woods. Let’s get to know her.    Can you tell us something you love about your mother? I love her resilience. She’s had a lot of obstacles in her lifetime, and she’s shown me time and time again how to get over those obstacles. She’s never faltered. She’s never shown that the path is too difficult. She's always there, pulling herself back up and getting where she needs to go.   I love her resilience. She's always there, pulling herself back up and getting where she needs to go. How would you describe your relationship with your mother? I call her whenever I'm going to work. I call her whenever I need anything. She's my go-to. She's my mom. Like I'll send her an outfit photo and be like, “Does this look good?” It's really easy for me to go to her for any sort of advice. She always has the right answer for me. What are three words that describe your mother? Loving, thoughtful, incredibly-hardworking-slash-determined. I'm going to squeeze that in as a double whammy.  What's the best advice your mom has given you? “You can be anything that you want to be because you are you.” Do you want to give her an early Happy Mother’s Day message?  I love you, Mama. Happy Mother's Day. I'm so glad I get to do life with you. Thank you for being my mom.   I'm so glad I get to do life with you. Thank you for being my mom. Do you have a favourite memory with your mom?  Every time we go on a big walk together. That's kind of like our hobby, especially since we moved here. We used to do big walks on the beach, but now we have the whole forest to explore and our dogs love to run together. So whether we're happy or sad, it's hike time. Let's go. We put on the boots and go as far north as we possibly can. Rain, shine, snow, sleet, we're out there in the bush, reconnecting with nature and one another. It's a really good time. We've cried, we've laughed, we've sung. We go through the whole Justin Timberlake bringing sexy back album and scream at the top of our lungs in the car together.  So it's just the feeling you get when you're with each other and it’s just love encapsulated in the moment.  By: Carter Selinger

We spoke with Lesley Billingsley about raising her two children, Savannah and Luther, as a stay-at-home mom. Lesley chatted to us about the challenges, discoveries, and joys of motherhood. She also shared a few of the unlikely lessons her children have taught her along the way. Let’s get to know her.   What do you love most about your children? It’s something different for each of them. Savannah is so caring and compassionate. She's always making sure everyone's okay. She's really sensitive and emotional. I love that about her.  Luther is a ball of energy. He is, as my cousin likes to say, real-life funny. He's not little-kid funny. He's funny across the board. He keeps us laughing. I was trying to figure out our love languages one day. Like Savannah's is definitely physical touch. I think mine is acts of service. I was trying to think of what Luther's was and he just announced: “I know what mine is. Mine is tuna.”  What have you discovered about yourself since becoming a mother? I've discovered that every day can be a new day. So whether you have a great adventure with your children or if you make a mistake, you start over. You wake up in the morning, you leave yesterday behind you, and you just start fresh and try to do the best you can for yourself and your children.    You wake up in the morning, you leave yesterday behind you, and you just start fresh and try to do the best you can for yourself and your children. What have your children taught you? I think Savannah taught me that you don't have to be perfect. You can make mistakes and you can try again. I liked things done a certain way before kids, but now I'm more flexible and lenient. Luther taught me that there's no exact timing for everything, and everything is worth the wait. When Luther was 18 months old, he wasn’t talking. We had to go into speech therapy. We were really worried. But now he’s saying his love language is tuna. So I guess when the time is right, the time is right.    I think Savannah taught me that you don't have to be perfect. You can make mistakes and you can try again. Luther taught me that there's no exact timing for everything, and everything is worth the wait. What's the most challenging part of motherhood? Not really knowing what to do. There's no textbook. Even if you talk to all the mothers in the world, it will never fully prepare you. So I think the most challenging part is not having a way to quantify if what you're doing is right or wrong. And you really won't know how you’ve done until way down the road when your kids grow up. Have you ever faced any judgment or adversity as a stay-at-home mom? I’ve realized I'm very privileged to be in a position where my partner can go to work and provide for us while I’m at home taking care of the children. Some people I meet say they wish they could be in my position so they could’ve had more time with their kids. And then other people kind of turn up their noses at me. I get comments like: “When are you going to get a real job?” “What do you do all day?” “When are you going back to work?” I'm always like, “I am working. It's just a different form of work.” Motherhood is 24/7 and you don't get paid.  Those kinds of questions come from well-intentioned people like friends and family, too. They're not trying to judge me at all. They’re just like “Hey, you used to have this job. Are you ever going to go back to it?” They’re just curious. But sometimes it can hurt a little bit. I've been a stay-at-home parent since Savannah was born eight years ago. When she went to kindergarten, I went back to work for a few months, but basically, I've been home with the kids 24/7 for eight years. In September Luther’s starting kindergarten so I'm going to be entering a brand new phase of my motherhood journey. It's scary, it's exciting, it’s unknown. I don't know what it's going to look like for me. My priority is getting Luther thriving and doing his thing in kindergarten, and then I'll see what things look like for me.   Luther’s starting kindergarten so I'm going to be entering a brand new phase of my motherhood journey. It's scary, it's exciting, it’s unknown. Do you have any advice for new moms? Just soak it up. You can get all the baby cuddles. I remember when both the kids were really small, people would say, “You're always picking them up. They're not going to know how to use their legs.” But I just wanted to get in as much time with them as possible because I knew how quickly they go through those phases. My advice to new moms is to just enjoy those moments without feeling guilty.    My advice to new moms is to just enjoy those moments without feeling guilty. By: Carter Selinger

Natalie Spooner knows how to pump herself up. Whether it's telling herself she’s unstoppable or pumping breast milk for her baby in between periods of a professional hockey game, there doesn’t seem to be anything that can slow her down. It’s that kind of energy that makes her such a force on and off the ice and an integral part of helping get the PWHL to where it is now. Let’s get to know her.        Has hockey helped you affirm or realize any aspects of your identity or personality? I started playing hockey at four years old so it's always been a part of my life, and it’s taught me a lot about hard work, perseverance, and dedication. I don't think I would be the person I am without this sport. A lot of my personality has probably come from the energy I get from the teammates I’ve always been surrounded by. The best thing about being on a team is how much fun you have with your teammates. I think that has played a big role in shaping who I am.   I started playing hockey at four years old so it's always been a part of my life, and it’s taught me a lot about hard work, perseverance, and dedication. Why do you think it's important for women and girls to stay in sports? Teamwork, dedication, hard work, and time management—there are so many skills you learn through sports that I think everyone uses in their daily lives. It's so important for girls to have those experiences. For me, sports were always a great release. I’ve always felt free on the ice and just had so much fun playing. There's a lot of stress in the world, so why not go out, play a game, and have a lot of fun? Do you have any advice for young girls that are playing sports?  Believe in yourself. I think that that's the main thing. If I could go back, I would tell my little self to believe in myself and to know that you can achieve your dreams.  The other thing is that sports should be about having fun. I still remind myself every day to go back to thinking like that little girl who had so much fun playing hockey. That's what it's all about. So as long as you love what you're doing and having fun, it doesn’t feel like work. It's just fun. What do you think the development of the PWHL means for young women and hockey in general?  It means a lot. Not only are we able to have a career playing hockey, but all of those little girls who watch us get to have the dream of playing professional women's hockey, just like any little boy would have.  Is there anything that you wish non-athletes realized about professional women's hockey? I wish people knew more about all the amazing ladies that I get to play with and against. Before we had this professional league, there were ladies from all different walks of life: teachers, chiropractors, firefighters, police officers. Some women had full-time jobs and they would come and play hockey at night and be on the road all weekend.  This is the first year we’ve had a professional women's hockey league and we're able to make it into a career and have a salary. A lot of the ladies don't have to have side jobs or other careers now, and I think that’s amazing. It's going to help take women's hockey to the next level because everyone can focus on hockey and not have to worry about where their next paycheck is coming from.   This is the first year we’ve had a professional women's hockey league and we're able to make it into a career and have a salary. What was your involvement in getting the PWHL started? So in 2019, the CWL folded and we decided to come together, all the female hockey players, to create the PWHPA Players Association, and we ended up going on a Dream Gap tour. We played all across North America in all different rinks, and it was a great way to show there was a market for women's hockey.   From there we were lucky enough to get icons like Billie Jean King behind us. She’s one of the main people giving money. I don't think we could have gotten to where we are now without people like Billie Jean, Stan Kasten of the LA Dodgers, and Dana Halford. All of them really believed in the vision and we're just so lucky for their support. What it was like to become a mother as a professional athlete? It takes quite a bit of planning to start a family and then come back to sport. I had to time my pregnancy. So after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, we wanted to start a family, but I had set a goal I wanted to be back playing in the next world championships. Luckily, I got pregnant right away, and it all kind of went smoothly and I was able to achieve that goal. But it also meant that while I was playing hockey, I was still breastfeeding. So you were playing at this high level while you were still breastfeeding? Can you tell us about that? It was definitely a challenge. The time commitment that breastfeeding takes was one of the things that surprised me most about being a mom. I was able to bring him with me to most of the places I went because my mom would come along, too. But being away from him for games and practices, I had to get really good at being able to pump in the locker room or between periods. I had some pretty discrete pumps that I could just slip on in the locker room with the girls. I thought it was super funny when my teammates would look over and I’d be there pumping, and then either sending milk up or putting it in the fridge for after the game. When you're a high-performance athlete, you're trying to power through and so forth. Maintaining your milk and making sure you're drinking enough and eating enough was a struggle. During the world championships, we were in some pretty intense games. So that was hard, but I was able to make it through.    Being away from [my son] for games and practices, I had to get really good at being able to pump in the locker room or between periods. You were back playing hockey four months after you gave birth. What are some of the things that you didn't anticipate would impact your career as a professional athlete? I came back four months postpartum to play my first hockey game in the PWHPA to give myself a chance to get ready for the World Championships, which were around the five-month mark. There were so many unknowns going into pregnancy and training afterwards. I don't think I realized how much my body changed because it happened so slowly.   I came back four months postpartum to play my first hockey game in the PWHPA to give myself a chance to get ready for the World Championships. You kept skating until you were 36 weeks pregnant—what was that like? I just loved getting out on the ice and I think the rink was where I felt the most normal, before and after giving birth. It felt like some type of normalcy to go out there and get back to being with my teammates. Life as a new mom can be quite isolating, so to have my teammates around me again was really freeing and so much fun. It made me feel like myself again. How did you deal with the hunger, exhaustion, and sleep deprivation that pregnancy can cause?  So I found when I was breastfeeding, I was definitely eating way more every time I woke up in the night to feed. I also drank excessive amounts of water. Even when I was pregnant, I was so thirsty. I don't think I've felt that type of thirst before, but I just had to make sure I was eating whenever I was hungry and fueling my body. Is there anything else you want to share about your experience becoming a mom and having a career as a professional athlete? Were there any emotional impacts or unexpected challenges? When I became a mom, I did feel my priorities shift. Before, my whole life was built around hockey. And I would say I was a very selfish person in a sense. I was so committed to my training and that was really all that mattered. And then I had this baby that needed me and that I had to care for. When I would have to go away for games and bring him with me, my mom would come, but I still felt this sense of guilt when I was leaving him to go on the ice. At the same time, I knew this was what I needed.  So there was some learning to do there and some new balances to find between my love for hockey and my love for my baby. My baby takes priority, but I was able to find a pretty good balance between being a mom and coming back to play the sport I love. If you’re having a challenging time or need a confidence boost or something like that, are there any things you say to yourself? I tell myself to be unstoppable, and I just picture myself being so dominant. I literally just tell myself “Be unstoppable.”  We noticed you like to play in your Sparkle Balls™ and other H&B jewelry. Why do you find yourself drawn to it?  I remember when I got my first pair of Sparkle Balls™, I just loved the way I felt in them. It’s the same way now with my pearl Sparkle Balls™—I just feel really good whenever I wear them. They're my go-to's, and I have to wear the biggest ones.   I remember when I got my first pair of Sparkle Balls™️, I just loved the way I felt in them. Do you have any advice for women in general?  My advice for women would be to chase your dreams. No matter what. I can't say it's going to be easy. It's probably going to be difficult and there's going to be lots of twists and turns. But in the end, it's definitely worth it. You'll remember the journey more than the destination.    Chase your dreams. No matter what. By: Carter Selinger