Current:Home > ScamsTo the moms all alone on Mother's Day, I see you and you are enough. -WealthSpot
To the moms all alone on Mother's Day, I see you and you are enough.
View
Date:2025-04-17 02:02:35
Most of my 14 years of motherhood felt like Mother’s Day was spent alone, including some of the years I was married.
Every May, when the second Sunday in May comes around, I think of the women who are where I was in multiple places of my mother journey: scared, alone and envious of the moms with a supportive partner at home.
This year, I've written a letter to every single mother struggling to celebrate herself today, who feels inferior to the other families she sees.
When the flowers don't come, when there are no "thank yous," when there is no one posting our picture, I want us to remember where our gift truly lies.
To our kids, this is the life and this love is enough. So, we can raise our glass.
Dear, single mom on Mother's Day
Maybe you woke up a little early today to give yourself the gift of solitude. There is no one to tag in at the end of the day. It’s exhausting.
You might get a few minutes before feelings of inadequacy come flooding in. You are reminded of all the things you can't do, never seeing all that you have. You wonder how a single-parent home is affecting your kids, who will be down in a matter of moments.
Then, the day will begin just like any other day.
Maybe there were once flowers waiting for you. Maybe there were never flowers at all. You may find crumpled up Mother's Day art in your kids' backpack today, but they may not recognize that there should be anything to celebrate.
You will prepare every meal, answer every request, create every moment, wipe every tear and calm every fear. But your requests will be left unmet, your moments 60 seconds at a time, your tears wiped by your own hand and your fears, ever ponding.
Yet every day you show up and you do it, maybe with a little envy for the two-parent home down the street, because it's hard to be a full-time parent and a full-time provider. You can't possibly do either perfectly well.
If you're feeling discouraged today, seeing only your lack, look inside.
You are the creator of all the good that you see.
Tonight, when you tuck in your kids, witness your gifts.
There may have not been anything on the table this morning, you may have cleaned up the house and cooked every meal, but there is peace in the room. There is joy on their faces. There is a tangible love providing security like the blanket wrapped around their feet.
Your family is not inferior.
You are enough. Your kids know it, and some day someone else will too.
But it has to start with you.
My son was feeling left behind:What kids with autistic siblings want you to know.
Your married friend may be struggling, too
Single mothers should know that married mothers aren't necessarily better supported. Sure, they may have flowers, but just like you, they have learned how to water themselves.
There were Mother's Days when all I felt was hollow. There were flowers, photos, dinners and lots of hugs, but it obscured a darker reality. Presence doesn't equal support. Lonely doesn't equal alone.
Knowing my "enoughness" led me back into singleness and back to the mother I've always been. So, cherish where you are and never trade your peace for support. Recognize yourself and celebrate this day.
Last year, I bought myself a bouquet of wildflowers, and this year, I bought myself a few.
My gift is this home I've created and the peace I feel at night. Sure, it may be a little messy, but it is far from inferior.
When I release my kids into the world, they will take this love that they've been given and begin planting it in places of their own, definitely better than if they had grown up in our broken two-parent home.
Yet I know that you, like me, may have a desire to share your life with someone. Just make sure that they are a seer too, a seer of your worth and your "enoughness," on more than just this special day.
veryGood! (88729)
Related
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Horoscopes Today, December 24, 2023
- Wolfgang Schaeuble, German elder statesman and finance minister during euro debt crisis, dies at 81
- Students in Indonesia protest the growing numbers of Rohingya refugees in Aceh province
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Teenager Najiah Knight wants to be the first woman at bull riding’s top level. It’s an uphill dream
- A US delegation to meet with Mexican government for talks on the surge of migrants at border
- German police say they are holding a man in connection with a threat to Cologne Cathedral
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Taylor Swift, 'Barbie' and Beyoncé: The pop culture moments that best defined 2023
Ranking
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Beer battered fillets stocked at Whole Foods recalled nationwide over soy allergen
- Lucky NFL fan from NJ turns $5 into $489,383 after predicting a 14-pick parlay bet
- Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 15 players to start or sit in NFL Week 17
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Burning Man survived a muddy quagmire. Will the experiment last 30 more years?
- Nikki Haley has bet her 2024 bid on South Carolina. But much of her home state leans toward Trump
- Free People's After-Holiday Sale Is Too Good To Be True With Deals Starting at Just $24
Recommendation
Sam Taylor
The year in clean energy: Wind, solar and batteries grow despite economic challenges
Indiana mom Rebekah Hubley fights to keep her adopted, disabled son Jonas from being deported
Manchester United says British billionaire buys minority stake
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Here’s what to know about Turkey’s decision to move forward with Sweden’s bid to join NATO
Here’s what to know about Turkey’s decision to move forward with Sweden’s bid to join NATO
Subscription-based health care can deliver medications to your door — but its rise concerns some experts