I love Mother’s Day. I love all celebrations through-out the year because they make me pause from my routine. They help me reflect on being grateful for what I have.
More than ever, I think we do need days like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day because they prompt us to stop and pause. Life is busy, and as much as there are mantras to stop and be grateful everyday, unless you make it a daily habit, it doesn’t happen as often as we like. And we don’t show our gratefulness as often as we should.
Being grateful is one aspect of Mother’s Day, but being appreciated is another. The gifts don’t matter so much to me, but being appreciated? Write that in a card and hand that to me in an envelope and my Mother’s Day is made.
I want to know that I’m doing the best by my children. I want to make sure that I’ve been obedient to God’s direction in my life and have been a good steward in loving and caring for the family he has blessed me with.
I then want my girls to say I’m the best mummy in the world to them, because
I listen to them,
I inspire them to be kind to others,
I do activities with them that fill their needs,
I read them stories or do craft with them,
I take them for ice-cream and McDonalds for treats just because,
I get them new clothes,
I put a special request to Santa so they get their heart’s desire for that toy I said no a million times to when we’ve been in the shops to buy something else.
I want them to say I’m the best mummy because they realise how much I’ve changed my life so I can be there for them and nurture them so they can be their best.
I want my husband to say I’m the best mum to his children because of the way I love our kids and manage our household.
I want him to recognise what I’ve changed in my life so he can work in a job he loves and come home to a house that is happy.
I want him to understand how hard it is to juggle the work that fits in with our current family situation, while running a household and keeping this family ship sailing when he’s not home. Sometimes the ship falls apart…
I want him to appreciate the time I invest into our family.
The constant pick-ups and drop-offs for school and kindy. The messes and toileting mishaps that always happen on my watch. Managing the bills. Managing our life.
And he does. They do. My family does appreciate me.
But there are days and sometimes weeks where the struggles are real and family life isn’t as happy as I’d like it to be. I focus on my sacrifice, and all the things I have to do, rather than what I’ve gained and how blessed I am to have a family to care for. Sometimes I forget to laugh at the absurdness of children and their antics. I’m quick to respond angrily, rather than with humour and grace.
Tantrums, stress, overwhelm and distractions can affect our family life.
But as a mum, I know I have the power to steer my ship in one of two directions. I can react negatively and focus on the sacrifice, or I can face the struggles with a smile, knowing our family life isn’t perfect (and it never really is when you have different personalities and emotions to deal with), but joy and happiness are never too far around the corner. They are just one decision away.
The heart of Mother’s Day is appreciating who mum is and what she does. Mums can change the atmosphere of a home instantaneously. It’s a power that has to be stewarded well. I sometimes don’t steward it well enough.
So this Mother’s Day, if no one tells you you’re appreciated, I’m telling you, you truly are. What you do affects the society and community we all live in.
I appreciate my school mum friends, because their children are gorgeous humans my girls get to be friends with.
I am thankful for the mum that makes me a dinner because she’s been there and knows what a chore cooking dinner can be at the end of a busy day.
I’m grateful for the male apprentice who treated me with respect, because his mum taught him to respect everyone, no matter their gender.
All of us get to reap in the work our mothers have done before us.
The work you do is important, and today I hope you are appreciated because we all get to reap what you sow into our lives.
So Happy Mother’s Day. You’re appreciated more than you know.
