With Mother’s Day approaching quickly, many women fear a potentially very complicated vacation. This year, let’s take care of ourselves and our friends who may need a little more TLC on Mother’s Day.
1) Women struggling with fertility
If you’re still waiting to hear the word “mom”, that day will pierce and do whatever you can to just get by. If you want to turn off events and activities that are triggered, do just that. Avoid places full of decorations and Mother’s Day reminders. If you want to watch your favorite movies while eating potato chips all day, I totally support that. Self care is the name of the game.
2) moms who have lost a child
This is also a self-care game. You may want to ignore the day altogether, or party extra hard with your other children. You set the tone and do what feels right for you.
3) People who have lost their mother
This day is always difficult, especially for the “motherless moms” who navigate parenting without the love and wisdom of their mothers. Difficult too if it’s your first mother’s day after a loss. If you want to go to the cemetery with flowers, cook their favorite food, tell stories about them, or go over photos – this can help. Again, it’s always an option to limit yourself to Netflix by default and hide from the world.
4) women without children
Maybe for some reason and by choice or not, motherhood just didn’t happen. We need to remember that stepmothers, aunts, and other mother characters may feel a little more invisible on this day than ever before. If your children have a special mother figure in their life, encourage them to make a craft or show a little appreciation. These women are often the ones who help, give and support to their mothers friends. Since a woman does not have a child of her own, she is not necessarily childless.
5) People with conflicted relationships with their mothers
This is a good day to stay away from social media and not see all of the photos and comments about the “perfect” mothers and loving families of friends. While we know that there is no such thing as a perfect parent-child relationship, as you scroll through your social media feeds it sure does. So, take a social media diet on Mother’s Day – your sanity will thank you for it.