Mother's Day is on Sunday.
Today I read a blog post by The Inspired Housewife about how Mother's Day can be hard for many people. For sons and daughters who have lost their mothers. For mothers who have lost their children. For mothers whose children have walked away from the faith. For women who have been unable to get pregnant. (These things can apply for men on Father's Day too, it just happens to be Mother's Day when I'm writing this).
I thought it was a good post making an excellent point about how we should be aware of others' pain even when we are celebrating. That's so true. And so many people are hurting on these special days.
But the woman who wrote this it left out one important group. The singles.
There are single men and women who might find it hard to deal with these days as well. It can be extremely painful, especially for those who longed for a family but are beyond having one.
I'm not trying to say that single people have a harder time on these days or diminish in any way the pain that other people are going through on this day. I'm very grateful that although I'm single, I still have my mother here and can celebrate with her. All I'm saying is, when you are thinking about all those people who might be having a hard day on Sunday, don't exclude the singles.
I was talking to the men in my family about what we were going to do for Mother's Day (because face it, someone needed to get the ball rolling). All the other women in my family are mothers now. My sister jumped in and said, Joy, you are a future mom, so you shouldn't have to do anything either.
It was a nice thought and I really appreciated that my sister understood that being the only non-mom in our family for the first time could be a little difficult for me.
But I'm not a mom and so I will be making chocolate pie and blueberry pie for our celebration on Sunday. I'll let the guys take care of the rest. Plus, my brother-in-law is a far superior cook than I am.
I won't spend the entire day on Sunday feeling down or feeling left out of the "mom" club. But there will probably be a moment or two when I feel that strong twinge of sadness and wish that I too was a mom. Someday, I might be. And I'm fortunate enough to have nieces and a nephew and a family who loves me.
But not everyone as lucky. So look around you this Mother's Day. Do something nice for someone who might be struggling with this day. Let them know that you see their pain and that you care. And be very thankful for the mothers in your life. I know I am.
I'm off to China in a few days, but when I come back, I'll be sharing the best response you can ever give someone who is feeling down about being single.
Today I read a blog post by The Inspired Housewife about how Mother's Day can be hard for many people. For sons and daughters who have lost their mothers. For mothers who have lost their children. For mothers whose children have walked away from the faith. For women who have been unable to get pregnant. (These things can apply for men on Father's Day too, it just happens to be Mother's Day when I'm writing this).
I thought it was a good post making an excellent point about how we should be aware of others' pain even when we are celebrating. That's so true. And so many people are hurting on these special days.
But the woman who wrote this it left out one important group. The singles.
There are single men and women who might find it hard to deal with these days as well. It can be extremely painful, especially for those who longed for a family but are beyond having one.
I'm not trying to say that single people have a harder time on these days or diminish in any way the pain that other people are going through on this day. I'm very grateful that although I'm single, I still have my mother here and can celebrate with her. All I'm saying is, when you are thinking about all those people who might be having a hard day on Sunday, don't exclude the singles.
I was talking to the men in my family about what we were going to do for Mother's Day (because face it, someone needed to get the ball rolling). All the other women in my family are mothers now. My sister jumped in and said, Joy, you are a future mom, so you shouldn't have to do anything either.
It was a nice thought and I really appreciated that my sister understood that being the only non-mom in our family for the first time could be a little difficult for me.
But I'm not a mom and so I will be making chocolate pie and blueberry pie for our celebration on Sunday. I'll let the guys take care of the rest. Plus, my brother-in-law is a far superior cook than I am.
I won't spend the entire day on Sunday feeling down or feeling left out of the "mom" club. But there will probably be a moment or two when I feel that strong twinge of sadness and wish that I too was a mom. Someday, I might be. And I'm fortunate enough to have nieces and a nephew and a family who loves me.
But not everyone as lucky. So look around you this Mother's Day. Do something nice for someone who might be struggling with this day. Let them know that you see their pain and that you care. And be very thankful for the mothers in your life. I know I am.
I'm off to China in a few days, but when I come back, I'll be sharing the best response you can ever give someone who is feeling down about being single.