What This Famous Mom’s Daughter Said at College Drop-Off Will Melt Your Heart

Quick Smiles:

• Beloved TV mom opens up about tearful college goodbye that changed everything
• Daughter’s unexpected response leaves her speechless and emotional
• Heartwarming reminder that our kids see us differently than we see ourselves

Moms know that there is no guilt that rivals how we feel about our kids. No matter if we’ve done it all right, we find ourselves feeling like it’s all wrong.

Motherhood can often lack moments of grace, and it’s important that we take a breath from time to time and give ourselves a break. Mom of five Joanna Gaines understands this pain and had a moment of clarity saying goodbye to her daughter, Ella, at college drop-off.

She explained the story to mom of two, Hoda Kotb, on her podcast.

“I remember just crying a little bit and thinking, ‘Okay, this is the moment I can just like say I’m sorry for anywhere I wasn’t present,” Joanna explained. “For months, what I was grieving was, I wasn’t home the whole time. Like I was a stay-at-home mom for a portion of her childhood, but then I grew this business.”

Her Daughter’s Response Changed Everything

Joanna Gaines said that as she began to apologize to her daughter for missing parts of her life while building her business, Ella became upset. She wanted nothing to do with her mom’s apology and most certainly didn’t want her to feel any guilt.

“She said, ‘Mom, are you serious?’ She’s like, ‘All you’ve taught me is I can do anything and everything.’ And so the narrative she’s built up over the years is not the mom guilt that I’ve been holding. Instead, it’s one of strength and empowerment and beauty. And right there it was it was a life-changing moment for me that you just need to talk more,” Joanna told Hoda.

The moment really stuck with her and made Joanna Gaines realize that she was teaching her daughter that you can be a mom and have a career and live your dreams. It was a huge moment for Joanna and Ella.

Sometimes our children can be our greatest teachers; we just have to keep our eyes and ears open. What a beautiful reminder that the stories we tell ourselves aren’t always the ones our loved ones are writing about us.

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