Category Archives: Mother’s Day

.:31:. a M O T H E R S | D A Y.

Posted in celebrate, Mother's Day, Motherhood, Parenthood, parenting, Uncategorized by


on a New Year we resolute, envisioning change and exciting things ahead. Clinking fancy stemware while smooching your beau.

on a Birthday, we find solace in celebration of any sort, while attempting to leap gracefully into another year of life – hoping to be better than last year and avoid the extra wrinkles and aches of aging… believing that turning 29 (yet again) is amazing!

a New Year and a Birthday – two of the many events that mark a celebration for all to enjoy in their own way.

No discrimination, no struggle, no wait or wonder. We all go to bed one year and we all wake up in a new calendar year or a new year of life. Nobody is left behind. Their is no criteria for these holidays besides just being.

on M O T H E R S | D A Y we are reminded of our title and how it became. A unique title not held by all. Some of us are reminded of the wait before the celebration. The questions, and worries. On a day like Mother’s Day, we watch the little people that we’re raising, shower us with love in their own special way. We open our arms to sweet homemade gifts and cursivey quotes of affirmation and celebration for a job well done.

“Thank you for mothering our children.”

“You’re an amazing mother.”

“You deserve this…”

“MOM = WOW”

I write to remind all you Mothers that today isn’t just another holiday like the others. It’s a club with a member’s only card, a bouncer and a handshake… and if you don’t get in you either try again next year or decide that this isn’t the title that suits you. But it isn’t a simple “check yes or no” application. It’s a process – for some, a long and tedious one – and a quick signature won’t do.

We often forget that many may never celebrate this day for themselves. Many see this day as a sad one, because loss has doused them in sorrow. Some may put this day on an unattainable pedestal, expecting all the glory because… labor, late nights, breast feeding, ppd, etc. Some may want to hide from this day, avoid the spotlight, just live like it were yesterday. And don’t get me wrong, mothering and all that comes with it, is nothing to turn our heads to. It’s a powerful experience filled with exhaustion, pain and incredible emotions – a true reason for celebration, after even small successes! 

The first year I became a “member” of Mother’s Day, I let all of the stress and fervour of year one parenting cloud my vision. I let out this huge breathe I had been holding in, as if reaching Mother’s Day was some sort of goal. The finish line for the past year. “Yay, you did it – your first year of parenting! Happy Mother’s Day!”. After watching so many women in my life enter this club with apparent ease (so I thought), I was finally celebrating!

But something important often slips through the cracks on this day. Something that cards and flowers don’t equate to. This year, with 2 little humans running around and having pretty intellectual conversations now, I am struck with how my view of Mother’s Day has changed. As much as I mother my children and care for them like I should… they have truly formed the mother I am today. I am a “member” of Mother’s Day because of them, not because I chose to be a mother.


They came into this life and looked up at my clueless face with zero expectation and 100% trust. When I stumble, they continue to trust. When I break, they see me clearly between the cracks… and because of this unfiltered and no-judgement relationship I am a mother. When I look into their genuine eyes, I see pure and honest love that is always working to penetrate through my emotions. When I anger, I still see that love in their eyes. When I am ashamed, it remains. When I am sad, they worry. When I feel clueless, they trust. When I am filled with joy, they join the party!

So, I am asking this year – why do you celebrate Mother’s Day? Because the local spa has a great deal and the flowers this time of year are glorious? Because your annual Mother’s day feast is fit for a queen and very instagrammable? Or do you celebrate to honor? Honor the little lives that honored you on day 1 – after all, they gave you the pass into this “club”.

I celebrate for them – the extension of my life that didn’t exist 5.5 years ago. Two little people that love me no matter what. On a day like Mother’s Day we can all give ourselves the gift of grace and gratitude for the badge that we wear – the badge that appears in wrinkles and bedhead, dry shampoo and unfolded laundry. So if you don’t get that spa or those flowers, or your feast is a flop – dig deep and find the honor that hugs you no matter what side of the bed you woke up on. The hands that still need you… through tantrums and teen angst, they still choose you.

Happy Mother’s Day to you and the beautiful generation of humans who are unknowingly raising you in motherhood.

.:20:. This Mom life. {I’m getting it}

Posted in family, Mother's Day, Motherhood by

FullSizeRender-4

 

More experience, longer amounts of sleep, a little more patience, thicker skin and a lot of emotional exposure…

This Mom life – – I feel as though I can say I’m getting it!

…at least more than I could say last year and much more than I could before I became a mother.

I get that it’s hard, stressful + exhausting. I get that it’s perfect, wonderful + absolutely amazing. Whether you have one or ten kids, chaos + beauty have no limits, they can be hard to separate and will change in definition each day.

In the past couple years I can say that I’ve found myself inpatient, fearful, concerned, overwhelmed, weak, helpless, exhausted, protective, critical, defensive, offended, stressed out, defeated…

But mostly and overall I am grateful, proud, amazed, blessed, strong, incredibly thankful, and so very much in love.

You might wonder why I would even share my negatives… Thankfully, these negative moments are shallow and short lived and tend to be graciously followed up by a deep positive that remains constant. Admitting to all the negatives is a little uncomfortable and yes, we can control our feelings. But I don’t believe I’m alone on this and if anyone tells me that they’ve felt none of the above (as a parent or mom), then I would love to know where you get your magic potions, which planet you reside on and I assume you click your heels and twitch your nose.

I think it’s necessary that we (mom’s) shed a little light on the truth. It’s not easy. Nobody understands our job, our role, our day, our struggles, our feelings besides us. We can seek advice or help and find a quick fix, a moment of encouragement or feeling of confidence but what nobody will ever understand is what goes on in our minds and exactly how our hearts and souls feel. In all our moments of glory and every moment of loss, WE may not even understand. But what we do know is that eventhough we hold the same title as “mom”, our motherhood experiences differ vastly.

IMG_4774

…even when we don’t think we have the time.

Whether you stay at home or seek balance between work and life… we all need to think twice before we judge our fellow Moms who were “called” for this role, just like we were. It can be so easy to misinterpret what we see on the outside, and (at times) difficult to look past perfection or disaster. We are all doing what we were meant to do. We are being the best MOMs we can be in the best way we know how – faults and all.

So, at the end of the day, when the kids are in their cozy slumber and all is calm – I’m learning to take a deep breath and know that all the good, bad and ugly I encounter from compliment to judgement… is just part of the formula that makes me MOM and how I handle it is what makes me human.

 

This Mom life – – I love it! Yes, my hands are full but my heart is overflowing…

From one {grateful, proud, amazed, blessed, strong, thankful and so very much in love} mother to another.

>>>Happy Mother’s Day<<<