Hi ladies, Happy Mother’s Day. Yes to you. If you are a mom. If you are not a mom. If you are a stepmom, dog mom, cat mom, or auntie. If you are a best friend, godparent, sister, daughter, or other supportive role in someone’s life; Happy Mother’s Day to you.
Mother’s Day used to be a hard day for me. As a stepparent I would feel less than because I was not a birth parent. Not because anyone else made me feel this way, it was because I allowed myself feel this way. I glossed over all of the elements that I did for others: the caring, the listening, the supporting. All those elements of motherhood. On Mother's Day I felt what I was not. Instead of celebrating all that I am as a woman.
And then something amazing happened. I became a mother. A more legitimate kind of mother people told me. I gave birth. And not much changed. I mean, thats not really true, because my whole life changed… but then again nothing changed. I was still a stepmom, wife, daughter, sister and friend. I didn’t feel too much of a difference from being a stepmom and a “real” mom. I still loved whole heartedly, still supported, still listened, still tried my best. And I am guessing thats what you do too, regardless if you are a mom or not.
As women, we all do a lot of mothering. All the roles I listed above take love and care and time. To all women I encourage you to expand the scope of what you are celebrating today. To celebrate yourself and all women and all of the various types of mothering we do. The various types of love we give to others, not just our children, but to everyone in our lives.
I believe all women are mothers by nature. In many different ways. So today, I celebrate you. On so many amazing, loving, and motherly levels.
In what ways do you care and support others? In what ways can you expand your scope of what Mother’s Day means to you in order to make it even more fulfilling and true?