🌼 Mother's Day Gifts
The gifts I love to receive
🌼 Happy Mother’s Day! Everyone’s motherhood journey is unique and different, and here is a quick retro on mine.
I did not yearn to be a mother my entire life but I thought that I would be one eventually. I remember remarking to my mom in my early 20s that the choice of parenthood makes very little sense - you give up your body, accept (at least a temporary) career set back, forego sleep, and introduce a lot of worry into your life. She smiled and said that some things are hard to intellectually internalize.
Now that I am a mother - I cannot imagine it any other way. As a mother of two girls, I love this job and see it as the most important thing that I do. The privilege of raising and shaping humans into the world is one I take pride in. As always, my mom was right - it’s hard to explain why motherhood is worthwhile, and I’m so glad I did not miss this chance.
I am also a corporate professional - I have a career that is as much part of who I am as being a mother is. I love contributing my energy to leading teams and building healthy organizations. In fact, I have written in the past what being a parent teaches me about work. It is hard to do both with intentionality and I continue striving for the right balance here.
Motherhood is a team sport - In addition to my amazing and supportive husband who carries his part and more in our busy lives, I have loved building a community of moms around me. This job is no joke and having a tribe of like-minded and supportive women around me has been everything.
Gratitude - especially on this day, I am grateful that I have my mom, mother in law and both of my grandmothers in my life and I am thinking about friends and family who do not have that today and wish they did.
I recently started following The Double Shift substack and got inspired by the article Taking Back Mother’s Day from Other People’s Expectations.
I love that the author recommends normalizing sharing what you, as a mother, want on Mother’s Day. Is it flowers and breakfast in bed, or is it a day alone hiking? I’ve been a recipient of gifts on this day for 10 years, and here are the top things I love to do and receive on Mother’s Day.
A planned outing with my family - museum, city attraction, etc.
A pre-arranged massage appointment where I get to just show up at a pre-determined time
An outdoor activity (last year I ran a 5k with other moms)
The gift of no cooking, dishes or clean up on Mother’s Day (or any day really)
My children being in a good mood and enabling me to do “fun parenting” for a day
The common thread through all of these experiences is family time without mental load. What’s your perfect Mother’s Day?
If you are looking for other motherhood related posts - whether about mom guilt, self care or advice on hiring a nanny - check out these articles:
🌸 Mother’s Day Retrospective - post on self-care as a mom
10 Lessons in 10 years of parenting - I wrote this on the 10-year birthday of our oldest daughter in a moment of reflection
👶 Advice on Hiring a Nanny: Practical tips for working parents
💪🏻 Brave Parenting: How to show up intentionally with our kids
🐎 Seven pieces of advice for parents returning to the "office" after parental leave: How to adjust back to work life