Happy Mother’s Day!
Whether you are a woman or a man, a parent or not, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!
Ambivalence for the Day
For some of you, this may truly be a day of joy because you have a loving relationship with your mother, or you are a mother yourself and have a loving relationship with your children, or you are married to a mother whom you love and respect. What a gift to treasure this day of love ❤️.
For others, the day may leave you cold or, perhaps, angry or desolate. If this describes you, motherly indifference, abuse, absence, or your own inability to adequately mother because of your turmoil may make Mothers Day fall flat. I share my condolences. Sometimes I feel the same way.
Celebrate Anyone Who Authentically Loves You
Let’s join together to make Mother’s Day a day to celebrate anyone in our lives – female or male – who has extended love to help us on our healing journeys. Who has affirmed our worth when we have felt worthless. Who has heard us, believed us, and protected us when we couldn’t hear or believe ourselves. These may be partners, friends, family members, or therapists. They may not be mothers, but they embody the powerful, redeeming role of mother.
Celebrate Yourself
And let’s not forget ourselves. We can celebrate ourselves as we mother our inner parts into wholeness. Ultimately, we are our own mothers who love ourselves, sacrifice for ourselves, and tenderly care for ourselves through the most difficult times of our lives.
Self-Care
On Mother’s Day, or any holiday that’s difficult for you, try to reframe the day to celebrate yourself. After all, you are the one who created alters to hold the memories you couldn’t bear to remember yourself. You are the one who went back into the fray to keep on keeping on. You are the one who lived to tell the story you didn’t want to know and barely want to believe. You are the hero. Reframe the day to celebrate yourself.
What do you like to do? Where do you want to go? How can you be good to yourself? Be willing to leave behind rituals or “days” that don’t serve to heal you. Create your own day or ritual in honor of you.
Invitation
Check out my website at www.lynbarrett.com where you can download my free ebook called DID Unpacked. You can also sign up for notification of the release of my memoir, Crazy? A Memoir (formerly titled Crazy: In Search of a Narrative) and learn more about writing opportunities. Email me or share your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
The Buddha