Mother’s Day Moments
What do YOU really need for Mother’s Day? It is a question I think we all stop to ponder for at least a few moments around this time of year. I was talking to a wise mama from one of our nature Explorers classes and she said that the day after Mother’s Day last year it dawned on her what she really wanted! She then immediately booked a getaway weekend with some girlfriends for the next Mother’s Day! I’ll be thinking of her this weekend, as we all hopefully stop for a moment and think about what it is that we need to feel refueled and nourished. But it begs the question, why don’t we stop and think about this more often?
Maybe when we’re finally given the permission to stop and ask ourself this question, it’s not so hard to figure out after all. And perhaps more importantly, when that moment of clarity hits us, we can use that as a jumping off point to incorporate these things for an entire year.
If it is a moment of silence we are after, this tells us we need more silence in our lives. Perhaps we can make this happen by scheduling in alone time to do something simple like walk the dog without a child attached, or make dinner alone while everyone else is out for a walk each night? Little shifts like this can make a big difference in our mental health.
Time with friends? Time with your partner? What if instead of feeling the constant burden to schedule babysitters and coordinate between conflicting calendars, you just started a bi-monthly date night plan, or a monthly moms night. First Friday of the month. Whoever can make it, makes it, but it it’s scheduled, planned and off your mental load!
Time in nature? Maybe you decide that Thursdays are “nature day” and every Thursday after school you take the kids to McLaren, Glen Park, GG Park or the beach? Even if it means you skip making dinner and have picnic dinners at the park.
Time to take care of the basics like hair appointments, dental and annual health check ups? This one has been of the hardest for me (even if it could just be one of the most important!) Someone once told me to never leave the office without scheduling your next visit and this has helped tremendously. Why not apply this to other self-care items like a massage, float, or pedicure appointment?
A clean house? You could try what I did when my kids were young and wild and decided to trade in my bi-monthly house keeper for a retired neighbor that would come and help with laundry and basic tidying up! Total game changer!
Why are these little things so important after all? Because as moms, we work hard and we love hard. After 13 years, I can say with almost certainty that being the moms we want to be can’t happen if we only stop to think about our wants and needs once a year. In order to be fully present on this journey takes a lot of self care. It may sound “cringe” as my oldest son would say, but mothering takes a lot of nurturing and it is almost impossible to keep on nurturing without nurturing ourselves.
I hope to see you all soon at one of our long time favorites like Second-Time Moms or Parenting Your Toddler classes, or some of our new offerings like First Time Moms or Navigating Middle School Drama.
Also want to send some love to those who may be celebrating Mother’s Day without their own mothers this year. I hope you find a way to honor and celebrate, grieve and rejoice all of the love they gave and shared.
And last but not least, a big shout out to our single or two dad families out there! You are “doing it all” and should definitely get to celebrate both holidays IMHO!