It's all about making cards from construction paper and pipe cleaners, covering the
kitchen table in glitter and glue. It's helping Daddy with breakfast and bringing Mama a cup
of her favorite tea: vanilla chai. It's helping with the dishes and giving as many hugs and
kisses as possible. It's a hydrangea plant for the backyard and ice cream before bed. To
my girls, Mother's Day is for making Mama feel special in simple but meaningful ways,
just how she likes it.
To my mother, Mother's Day is a difficult reminder that her mother is no longer with us.
Since my grandmother passed away four years ago, my mother has struggled on Mother's
Day, feeling the sadness and grief of losing her mother all over again. She is thankful for
her own children and grandchildren and enjoys the many ways in which we love her yet
she still can't shake the emptiness she feels since losing her mama. And so we all gather
around her and give her as much energy and love that we can, knowing that, someday, it
will get easier for her.
Since my grandmother passed away four years ago, my mother has struggled on Mother's
Day, feeling the sadness and grief of losing her mother all over again. She is thankful for
her own children and grandchildren and enjoys the many ways in which we love her yet
she still can't shake the emptiness she feels since losing her mama. And so we all gather
around her and give her as much energy and love that we can, knowing that, someday, it
will get easier for her.
To Shawn's mom, Mother's Day is a phone call from her one and only child. It is a card in
the mail, flowers on her doorstep, well wishes from several states away. This year, though,
it will be an extra special time as Shawn arrives in Arizona just one day after Mother's Day.
He will spend a whole week with his mama and their extended family, catching up
and reconnecting after a long year away. This year, she will get to hug her son and soak in
his love.
To me, Mother's Day is a reminder of how precious the role of "mother" truly is. It is a
special blessing and a pink carnation during Sunday Mass. It is a big breakfast and
my brother's BBQ. Mother's Day is a day off from doing dishes, sunbathing in the
backyard with a good book while the girls take their naps. It is a time for my husband to
thank me for blessing him with our children, a time for my parents to tell me how proud
they are of me. It is a chance to stand back and take it all in and to reflect on how, through
all of the exhausting and emotional hard work that is the journey of motherhood, I am so
truly blessed to be called "Mama" by these two, soon to be three, babies.
special blessing and a pink carnation during Sunday Mass. It is a big breakfast and
my brother's BBQ. Mother's Day is a day off from doing dishes, sunbathing in the
backyard with a good book while the girls take their naps. It is a time for my husband to
thank me for blessing him with our children, a time for my parents to tell me how proud
they are of me. It is a chance to stand back and take it all in and to reflect on how, through
all of the exhausting and emotional hard work that is the journey of motherhood, I am so
truly blessed to be called "Mama" by these two, soon to be three, babies.
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