The Best Gift for Mothers Day is Time to Heal

On Mother’s Day, children collectively attempt to give the women who’ve raised them a token of gratitude for all that they’ve given and sacrificed. All too often, the physical, intellectual, and emotional labor that goes into motherhood is ignored or underplayed with shallow lip service and empty gestures. Mothers often find themselves feeling exhausted or unappreciated, and even their loved ones might not recognize how to help them. It doesn’t have to be this way. Mothers don’t have to suffer in silence. We can take better care of ourselves, and our caretakers. Here are a few gifts that every mother deserves this Mother’s Day.  

Something taken off of her plate.

Mothers  are usually the first people feel comfortable asking for help, and boy do people sure get comfortable. Our caretakers can give so much that they might appear invincible, even to themselves. But nobody goes through life alone, and everybody needs help sometimes, even the strongest of us. If you feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities taking care of others, you deserve to feel comfortable asking for the type of help you so freely give. If you’re looking to help the caretaker in your life, you could offer to help her in a specific way: by doing her chores, giving her a ride, or anything that subtracts from her stress.  

Acknowledgement of your mother’s sacrifices.

It’s not always immediately apparent how much a parent has sacrificed for their children. Unconditional love is transformative, beautiful, powerful, and worthwhile, but it’s also frequently taken for granted. As a parent, you often put your children first, and yourself second without an uttered word or a second thought about it. When applied casually, your boundless unconditional love will at some point go unnoticed, and your feelings deserve recognition and space to breathe. Be honest (with yourself and others) about your struggles, setbacks, and sacrifices. If you’re looking to thoughtfully acknowledge your mother’s sacrifices, you could write her a thoughtful letter or phone call in which you talk about a fond memory where she went out of her way to make your life special, and how grateful you feel. You can also help her by giving her the gift of our EMPOWER course. The aim of this course is to help women embrace their divine femininity, no matter how old they are or where they are at in their journey.  

Compassion for your mother’s mistakes.

Nobody is perfect, and when it comes to being a parent, it is completely impossible to do a completely good job. We are imperfect, feeble-minded creatures with imperfect information, and our good intentions can only take us so far. As we move into adulthood, we can see our parents as fellow human beings instead of invincible forces of nature bound to alternate between bountiful caretaking and well-intentioned but horrifically misguided mistakes. When we become adults, and start to make choices and mistakes, we can start to empathize with our parents on a more personal and profound level than we could as children. We realize that they were doing their best with the information they had at the time. Through having compassion, and even forgiveness for our parents’ mistakes, we can find more compassion for the people we love, and for ourselves. 

Novelty and luxury.

In addition to the aforementioned emotional needs, it’s also vital for mothers to fulfill their need for comfortable excitement. When you’re the one who cooks the food, changes the baby, plans every birthday party, drives the kids to school, cleans the cupboards, dusts the drawing room, takes out the trash, does the laundry, and negotiates with anybody in the house having a meltdown, it can be overwhelming to say the least. You deserve to treat yourself by spending time doing something (FOR YOURSELF) that brings you joy (BUT DOESN’T INVOLVE DOING A FAVOR FOR ANYBODY ELSE). If you’re trying to bring luxury and novelty into your mother’s life, you could take her out to eat at a beloved restaurant, buy her fancy jewelry, or even spend an afternoon in the park looking for birds. In fact, I recommend doing all three of those things with your mother at your next available opportunity. In this article, we talk about the five most peaceful spots in St Petersburg, FL. You can use that as inspiration!

If you feel stuck on your healing journey, working with a therapist can help. Based on your needs, our intake specialist will help you get matched up with your perfect therapist. Click here to schedule a consultation.

Sunny Ebsary is an educator, multi-modal artist, and writer specializing in the intersection of myth and mental health. Sunny’s writing walks the line between poetic and logical, giving readers a chance to interface with the mind and imagination. Sunny’s been putting pen to paper since he was a child, writing everything from albums, novels, and plays, to essays, interactive games, and of course, many articles! While studying both psychology and writing, he realized his real passion in life was helping others unlock their creative spark. Whether he’s leading a D&D game, directing a production, or diving deep into the brain, you can be sure Sunny will be ushering you toward finding meaning in your life.