A Gentle Mother’s Day

For the last week, there has been a lot of discourse around Mother’s Day. Who gets to celebrate? Who doesn’t? What about kids with no moms? What about pregnant people? What should the day look like? The list goes on and on. And I’m not one to say who gets to celebrate or not. That’s not my role and not something I want to do.

However, I do want to recognize that holidays - Hallmark and calendar and religious alike - can be hard for many reasons. Many holidays are not happy for people. They’re missing someone, or they’re stressed about the money they spent, or or or. And a few years ago, I made the conscious shift away from wishing people a “Happy (insert holiday of your choice)!” to “Have a gentle (holiday of your choice).” People might not be in the space for happiness or joy, and I find that especially true on days like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Time’s where there’s an expectation of who is included and what the day should look like. These expectations often result in complicated feelings, bring up the pain of loss, or highlight strained relationships between parties. You might not fall into one of the “other categories” that can make the day hard. Maybe you just have funny feelings about this day that you can’t put into words.

So today, I want to take a moment to recognize and honor the feelings people have. And to say, “May you have a gentle Mother’s Day.” I love you. You are loved. We are not alone.