Sure, I knew that Mother’s Day was right around the corner. I mean, I’m a mom. Of course I knew. Motherhood is one of my greatest joys, and I think it’s really swell to have a day just about me. But the thing is, it’s not. It’s not just about me.
So when I started seeing the barrage of photos come across my Facebook newsfeed the heavy weight of Mother’s Day hit me. Like a lead weight it pulled at me, dragging me down to places I typically try to forget about.
Photo after photo of beautiful mothers being celebrated showed up on my social media, and I honestly loved seeing them. But honestly, I also didn’t.
When I saw the picture of you and your mom, and your child too, I almost lost it. That’s the thing about grief. It’s a tricky animal. You can be chugging along doing just fine and dandy when all of the sudden you are struck by sadness, and it comes up so stealthly unaware that it forces the emotion right out of you like an erupting volcano. Tears start pouring down your face, and you whisper to the non-responding sky above, “I miss you, Momma.”
I don’t want you to feel guilty for my grief. Not at all. My melancholy sadness is what it is, and it’s also accompanied by the peace of the hereafter, so most days I’m okay. I pitter-pat through an abundantly blessed life, and when I think of my mom who is gone, I smile at the memories that stir inside my heart. So don’t feel sorry for me, the motherless woman. I am simply a girl who was loved by an amazing momma; she just had to leave for Heaven a little earlier than we all bargained for.
But there is one thing I would want to impart to you. As a woman who has lost her mother without getting to say goodbye, and as a mom whose own children never met their wonderful grandmother, I would say this. Make the most of this Mother’s Day.
Don’t just grab a last minute card that looks okay. Find the perfect one that spells out how special she is. And if it doesn’t say it enough, then add your own sentiment.
