Celebrate A Mother. Celebrate Yourself.

I want to start off by saying that while mother can be defined as someone who has children and shows unconditional love, I understand that this isn’t always the case.

Some of us might not have mothers who are able to give that love. To you, I say – don’t go looking for a drink of water at a dry well. If your mother does not have the ability, for whatever reason, to give you the love you need, then you might need to find another source of love.

Others of us might not have a mother we can point to. To those, I would say, I hope you have found another source of mother-love. It might not be a mother, but just someone who can provide you with unconditional love and support.

Some of us might consider a person to be our mother even if she is not our biological mother.

All of these types of mothers are amazing – and we should celebrate anyone who showed us that type of mother love that we all crave.

In this blog, I am going to talk about my mother, Anne.

10 steps.

I am lucky to have spent lots of time with my mother. She has taught me a lot of important lessons. Like – if you are feeling run down or wimpy, go for a walk. Put a band-aid on it. Get over it.

These might seem a bit harsh, but they come from a place of love. My mom does not believe in wimps. Yes, if you are truly injured, she will give you a hug. And, then she will lock you out of the house and tell you it is only 10 steps to an open door.

10 steps. The solution between being locked out and finding a way in. Just 10 steps. There’s a lesson there.

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Laugh At Yourself.

Another lesson she taught me was to laugh at myself. This can be a hard lesson to learn. I naturally take myself very seriously. I work hard and expect that work to be recognized. I try. I try a lot. Even so, sometimes you try and you fail. Sometimes you do something that is pretty stupid. Sometimes you work so hard at a problem only to find you were approaching it all wrong.

That’s when you need to laugh at yourself. My entire family is right there and ready to laugh with you. Sometimes they are laughing at you. Sometimes with you. But, most of the time, it is a combination of both. And, that helped me learn not to take myself too seriously. It’s an important lesson.

Not everyone else is doing it.

Even though it may seem like everyone else is coloring their hair or getting new clothes, they aren’t. I once gave my mom a card that showed a stick figure jumping off a bridge while another stick figure stood on the bridge. The caption said – here’s me, not doing it. This, according to my mom, was one of the best cards she ever received. It was the best because not only did my mom always use the jumping off a bridge saying, she also often talked to us about the importance of doing what we thought was right. Just because everyone else is jumping off a bridge, doesn’t mean you have to. For me, it allowed me to see my own path, which admittedly was often different from the paths of those around me.

Thanks mom, for all of these great lessons and the millions of others that you have taught me over the years. I am lucky to have you in my life, even though I may not always say it.

So, this May, I encourage you to celebrate a mother - even if she isn't your actual mother. Celebrate her and celebrate yourself.

xoxo