"I remember everything that you forgot."
Historically speaking, Mother’s Day has always been difficult for me; an internal struggle of sorts.
As I wrote last year, the first time as a Mom myself, this Hallmark holiday has always served as an unwelcome reminder to me of the numerous strained mother-daughter relationships I have, leaving me with little desire to celebrate.
Well, even though I am spending Mother’s Day weekend as a work widow again (does anyone else see the irony?), I am turning over a new leaf!
Instead of dwelling on the maternal negativity surrounding me, personally, I want to applaud all of the Mother’s in my circle who have truly been amazing role models to me; helping me get to where I am today and showing me who I want to be for my daughter in the future. There is an old saying that it takes a village to raise a child, but I firmly believe that it also takes a village to raise a (new) mother!
Mamas need a tremendous amount of support; from early pregnancy to childbirth and far beyond. It took me a while to come to this realization, but once I figured it out I embraced the women around me with open arms. Ok, so I bear hugged some and wouldn’t let them go for dear life, but you get the idea!
There is something to be said about the advice gained from your peers. Think about it for a minute… how many years ago were you born? How much has changed in those 30 +/- years? Who am I kidding, I’m almost 40! While well intended, I’m sure, much of the advice I have received from my “elders” has been outdated, obsolete, proven untrue, or flat out dangerous. Smile and nod, smile and nod… thanks, but no thanks!
Having a mom-tribe to turn to whenever I need advice, support, a helping hand or a night out has been an absolute blessing. No offense grandma’s, but I trust my fellow mamas with my child more than any and all of you combined! And, when it came time to choose between fight and flight, I fought – hard, with an army of mamas who had my back the whole way!
As for "Mommy's Little (pill) Helper that I started exactly one year ago? Well, despite wanting to be off of it by now, I will be staying on them indefinitely. Plain and simply, they help and I am a better mom because of them so there is nothing to be ashamed of. So be it. End of story.
So, the happiest of Mother’s Days to all of you amazing mom-tribe Mamas! I honestly couldn’t have done it without all of you in my corner.
