Mother’s Day Can Be Painful & Inspirational.

Mother’s Day is a holiday celebrated on the second Sunday of May honoring mothers, both those who are biological and adoptive. This day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. I don’t recall celebrating Mother’s Day when I was young and at home. As we became independent adults with our own families, we gathered around our mother sharing dinner, cards, and gifts. It was expected of us and we honored that. However, are times changing or is there a certain unreality to our experiences in the past and present?

Today, we may live far from our children, we may have lost a child or grandchild, or we may be estranged from our children/grandchildren. I have experienced all of these and so have countless other women.

My mother has dementia and wouldn’t know me if I were to visit her. To participate in my mother’s caregiving experience, my sister and I talk weekly. As my sister and I share our childhood memories, it has become both interesting and enlightening to discover that we have different versions of mom. As mom goes deeper into her own reality, my sister sees the mother I experienced. It is giving her closure so she can let go.

My son lives in Missouri with his family and my daughter is now in Kansas to be with her father who is tragically ill. She has found a soul mate in her Aunt Joan.

My partner’s family does not celebrate Mother’s Day and my grandchildren may or may not give it much thought as they go about their lives. So where does that leave us?

It leaves us responsible for our own self-care. It leaves us to spend the day however and with whomever we wish to spend the day. We, as mothers, sisters, daughters and granddaughters, have the opportunity to share our gifts with the world, and if that is with close family, all the better.

Here are a few unique ways to celebrate Mother’s Day:

• Arrange a game night. Invite both family and friends who may not live close to their mothers. This also allows you to celebrate even if your children/grandchildren don’t attend.
• Choose to work in your garden and plant your favorite flower as a reminder of all your blessings.
• Pre-order dinner to give you free time to enjoy your day without cooking.
• Buy yourself a spa package or have a DIY spa day!
• Call your sister or close friend that you haven’t seen for a while. Send her a funny picture of when you were both together and if a friend hasn’t been in your life since your youth, share a picture as a child.
• Gather your girlfriends for a fun night together celebrating each other.
• Write a letter or send a card to a woman who has impacted your life in some special way, or share a kind word with your neighbor, grocery cashier, favorite server, etc.
• Offer support to someone in need.
• Give a hardworking mom a break by volunteering to babysit.

When we face painful relationships with our families, it can create anxiety and depression in us. It’s important to be mindful of our feelings, but not let them control our inner peace where love and kindness reside.

The power of celebrating motherhood is not just in the impact it has on society. It’s also in how we honor and respect our maternal instincts which enables us to navigate extraordinary challenges in our families, communities, nation, and the world. Mother’s Day is a time to reflect on what makes us so special as the great mother archetype, and why we should celebrate this incredible role every day of the year!

I hope you found a way to celebrate Mother’s Day as your inspired archetype. Oh, you don’t know which archetype you are? Then check our the Carl Jung inspired Project Archetypes. It’s fun and easy- it was my Mother’s Day present to myself. FYI, I’m the Sage Archetype!