It’s been almost a week since Mother’s Day and advertisers have shifted the focus to fathers. So, how did you fare? Was the day fabulous or a fail?
Mother’s Day can be rough. Don’t let the snapshots of cards and flowers and big smiles on Facebook fool you. It’s hard for a day surrounded by so much hype to deliver.
So, my friend . . .
If you made your own breakfast or cleaned up the mess from the breakfast that was made for you.
If you sat in the nursery during church with a crying baby or a cranky toddler.
If the extent of your teen’s acknowledgement was a text from her bedroom down the hall.
If you threw your purse in frustration and then sat in your closet and wondered why your child won’t listen to you, even on this day. (That would be me.)
If you spent the day alone.
If the phone didn’t ring.
If the restaurant wait was too long on this day when you weren’t supposed to cook.
If you just wanted to sit and cry, overwhelmed and defeated.
Just because your Mother’s Day was a fail, doesn’t mean you’re a failure as a mom.
Maybe your Mother’s Day was picture perfect but the following week not so much, and you wonder if anyone appreciates you beyond that one day in your honor …
Remember: You are loved and valued by Creator of the universe. The day-to-day, mundane rituals—the cooking, the cleaning, the chauffeuring, the getting up and doing it again—of your life have meaning.
Shaping and nurturing the next generation is an important job.
It can be hard to rely on attagirls that only come from a source you can’t see or hear, can’t it? So let’s take a moment and ask ourselves a crucial question. Is. It. Enough? And then take a deep breath and remember:
He is always enough. Always.
Girl, it sounds like you had the same kind of mother’s day I did! Maybe we should have celebrated together. My day started out with everyone else sleeping in late, so we missed church and ended up going out for breakfast at 12:30 after being told we had to hurry because my kids had plans so if I wanted them to go, we needed to get going. The two older ones kept telling me how sorry they were that they hadn’t gotten me an thing but they both assured me they would take me out to lunch or dinner later next week. Well, that’s just great for person that is on a diet to be taken out to eat. So I’ll either be forced to cheat again or forced to order rabbit food. After i sat in the bathroom and cried, I tried not to get my feelings hurt, but I just kept thinking about the nice, new stainless steel grill and grill canopy that they got for their dad. I got a rushed brunch at 1:30 because we had to wait an hour at IHOP, then an afternoon alone with my hubby and our youngest child. Now this might sound Ok except for the fact that she did not want to be there, she had plans too, but dad vetoed that. I’ll give her credit though, she knew my feelings were hurt so she was really trying to be nice and so was hubby. He kept saying, “it’s your day, we’ll do whatever you want to do.” That’s just hubby speak for I didn’t plan anything so you do it. Wouldn’t it be nice for a change to just have someone else make a plan and do it ahead of time so all you have to do is show up? I think I need another mom’s night out!
I hear you. I think another moms’ night out would do the trick!
Thank you! Mine was awful, mostly due to stomach virus. But I have been pondering most of these thoughts for a week. Glad I’m not alone!
Amy, the stomach bug thing was bad timing (not that there’s ever good timing for such a thing). It’s amazing how much thought Mother’s Day provokes in moms.
I’m not a fan of these kinds of holidays. Even though my dh and kids do little things for me on Mother’s Day (like get me a gift card to my favorite bookstore), I never have expectations for Mother’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc… It’s too much pressure, and IMO it says “Unless you do something special for me on THIS day, the other 364 in which you love and care for me don’t count.” So I’m an Equal Opportunity Scrooge. 😀