A Mother's Day Reflection
Celebrating Mother's; of all shapes and sizes amidst all the emotion this day can surface.
People come into motherhood in many different ways. Some will give birth to their own biological child, others may come into parenting children they did not give birth to but mother just the same. Some mother for a lifetime. Some for a brief yet critical time in the life of a child. No matter how you arrived at motherhood, we appreciate you and you deserve a day of reflection that is all about you.
Our relationships with our own mothers can be filled with a vast array of emotions that will bubble up on this day we call Mother’s Day. This is a day that can stir up all the feels and not all of them are pleasant. If you have lost your mother, our prayers are with you on this special day. If your mother is still in your life and on this earth, you will have an opportunity to reflect on the beautiful things that make mothers so uniquely entangled in our hearts and share this with your mom today.
— Dr. Pam
Why do so many of us feel so conflicted on Mother’s Day? In part it is because Mother’s Day is a fabricated holiday based on a 1868 “Mothers’ Friendship Day” designed to foster the reconciliation between Union and Confederate soldiers after the Civil War. We are also conflicted by how badly in recent history, this day of celebration has become so highly commercialized. What is most interesting about this day is how so many women feel bad about it.
Women struggle to feel only one feeling at a time. It is just a part of our nature. As a result we can feel how horrible this day must be for women struggling with their fertility or for people who grew up in violent or abusive homes and for those who have lost their mothers either literally or emotionally. We are doubly conflicted when we feel our day should be about our own journey in motherhood but we are being asked to show up for mothers who aren’t ours. With these conflicted feelings, we often see Mother’s Day as just another day with the addition of some grocery store flowers and the added burden of playing nice in the sandbox while simultaneously carrying the emotional weight of our community. It is the curse of being a woman and is difficult for our male companions to wrap their heads around. Being a woman is hard and beautiful all at the same time. We hear you.
If there is a symbol of motherhood, it would be a heart. The word heart in Latin is “cor”. This word is the root of the word concord or harmony and also discord or a lack of feeling of trust between people. It is also the root of the word courage and I cannot think of a better word to describe motherhood. It is to literally lead with your heart. No matter how you arrived at motherhood, you have done so with a wide open heart and with courage. Your heart is the interface in your body that creates balance between what you feel is right and what your mind is telling you. When we are in balance, we make our decisions from our heart and not our head though our heads can do a lot of chattering. Motherhood is a literal call to your heart to be courageous and real even when exhausted and overwhelmed. It is these beautiful hearts that feel all the feels and show up for each other and our families with reckless abandon no matter what.
We know mothers, how much you do that we can see as well as how much you do that swirls around in your mind behind your pleasant smile making sure your families are safe and sound. We see you…we really see you. We see below the surface of the iceberg beyond the tip that you show the world. We see how constant your families are in your minds even when they are nowhere physically near you. We know that there is a constant pilot light running in your head that is keeping the pulse of everyone even when you are supposed to be sound asleep. We know you are courageous and we know that you are tired.
It is our hope that you can celebrate your day for yourself and your loved ones with open hearts full of joy and maybe even get some rest. We are grateful for all of the moms in all their shapes and sizes no matter what their journey to this place was, today we say thank you for being you and we send our love and gratitude to you.
To share our message to mom’s with your loved ones, click here:
For a special treat for a mom in your life or for yourself, WOMB gift cards are a wonderful way to give the gift of self-care. Our gift cards can be used for any of our products or services like massage therapy, osteopathy, chiropractic care or for a mom to try a workshop or yoga class at The WOMB. We appreciate moms so much that we have our gift cards on sale for this special day and a special treat. For a list of services click here.
Loving a mom back with loving care is a gift she will not forget.
From our Family to Yours,
Happy Mother’s Day