Mother’s Day 2024

 

I start my day wishing Mum a Happy Mother’s Day and acknowledging the woman she was. I thank her for being a wonderful, unique mother. I thank her for not being like every other mother I knew. I thank her for being herself. Looking back, I realize how amazing she truly was.

 Gosh, I miss her so much and would love to be able to talk with her again. There are so many questions and topics I want to talk over with her. The pictures in my mind from the past …

It’s taken until recently for me to realize I have that uniqueness, too. Not like hers, but a uniqueness of my own. Neither of us were/are followers. Like her, I am my own person and not a cookie-cutter woman.

I sit here contemplating my role as a mother and how that changed when grandchildren came along. Maybe it started to change before then. I’ve been feeling guilty for years because I am not the typical mother and grandmother. I’ve been calling myself a bad mother because I seldom see my family and we seldom talk. I’ve isolated myself.

Today, in again thinking about all this, I realize I really wasn’t a bad mother. I raised two awesome sons who have become strong and have raised wonderful children of their own. It was only as I got older that I pulled back.

I wonder now if how I am today is partly because of Mum. Because I now recognize her strengths, I also see them in me. I see our opposites, too, but even that is strength.

It’s funny, how it often takes years to figure things out. Years when it’s impossible to have the conversations you wish you could’ve had.

So, remember your mothers with love. Remember their uniquenesses and strengths. Forgive them any … issues … that may have created dissension and distance. Reach out to them. Let them know you love them … even just in memory.