Mothers Day

May 8, 2022

Heather and Mae Drawing by Mae Quinn for Mothers Day 2017

"But behind all your stories is your Mother's story, for hers is where yours begins." Mitch Albom/Author

Consider that!! We often live our lives trying to gain separation from our mother or find independence from her influence. In a few instances our Mother was a bad influence. Most mothers don't get it perfect. They are human after all!!! But looking at our story from the perspective of our mother can be very enlightening.

Sadly, it seems, it isn't until our mother leaves the planet, that we begin to understand what she was trying to tell us all along!! What she was trying to accomplish as a mother!! We can see her love even more clearly than we did in life. We can also see where perhaps she failed us because of her inability to transcend her own issues. But most mothers, do what they do, solely because they want us to succeed in life. It may be that what they give us or how they discipline us is not what we most need, but in some measure, they do what they feel will help us thrive. Sometimes they try to give us the love they feel they never received.

Honoring our Mom means to step back and take a moment to realize that our Mom's "mother us" the best they are able while managing all their own personal challenges, hopes and fears in the process! They want to give us tools to succeed in life.

Step back and contemplate your Mom's story. Who was she? Do you know? What were her wishes? What did she long to accomplish? Those things informed her child raising practices. And though her ways may have seemed harsh or weak or overly domineering or constraining or something else...they came from her desire to do the best she could with what she was given.

Since my Mom passed away, I have come to understand her love for me more and more. I have come to realize that the way she raised me was never to punish or constrain my spirit. It was the best way she knew how to help me succeed. I am deeply appreciative for that.

Take a moment this Mother's Day to really BE with your Mom. Whether on the phone or picking out a card or by her graveside or taking her for brunch. Put aside some time to really be with her; with her being or with her spirit.

We too often take our mothers for granted. Take it from those who know, you will miss her immensely when she is gone. You will understand her kind words, her harsh rebukes, her reaching out for companionship in a much deeper way. When we take the time to think about our mother's story and how it contributed to what she did for us, we will come to understand ourselves better. We will be better able to transmute any harshness or wrongdoing we may have experienced into love. We will realize that she struggled with her own developing story while she tried to pass her love on to us.

Let her love into your being. Your mother's personality and story was her own life's challenge and gift. Whatever goodness she passed onto you was done through the struggle of mastering her own unfinished work.

As you celebrate Mothers Day, you celebrate yourself. Honor her, bless her. love her. You only have one mother and she DOES love you!!!