To the Good Mom that Got Nothing on Mother’s Day

To all the good mom’s out there who got nothing on Mother’s Day, what the fuck?!

How did this happen? I’m so sorry that you got treated that way.  How did you, a beautiful, giving, vibrant, funny, intelligent, hands-on, patient, supportive, woman get overlooked by your kids and family?

You are so much better than that. You deserved more. You are a good mom. You shouldn’t have had to beg for thanks and appreciation. You shouldn’t have had to remind anyone it was Mother’s Day around 11:30 am. You shouldn’t have had to wait all day wondering if maybe after dinner or before they go to bed the kids will give you a card, or a hug, or a fist bump, or a high-five, or a dead flower from the yard or even a mumbled “Happy Mother’s Day”.

How could the spouses of these good mothers’ choose to opt out of Mother’s Day and teach your kids that it’s okay to neglect the woman who gave her youth, her hips, her breasts, to the creation and caring for a child that most likely will not even carry her name — how dare they?

We talk so much about what mother’s ‘are’ but what we fail to mention is that mothers are people who have chosen to never truly be first again. We are the people who eat last, shower last, sleep last and get up first, go without first, and put everyone else before us.

One day a year we expect our children to say “Thank you” and show appreciation.  (It should be every day.)  Never, should our children be given the chance to wield power over us by withholding their appreciation or making us ask to be acknowledged. And never should a father teach a child that it is acceptable to neglect and disrespect their mom by choosing not to honor her on Mother’s Day.

Next year this needs to change.  I want all the mom’s out there who got overlooked on Mother’s Day to promise me this: Promise that every day between today and next Mother’s Day you will remind yourself of your purpose and beauty, recall all the gifts you had before you were a mom, and know that they are still all there; and then some. You are a mother now. More than a woman you embody beauty and strength. You sustain life. You are a maker of memories and magic. You are the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. You cook, you clean, you work, you rock, you study, you cuddle, you play, you wash, you fold, you sweep, you encourage, you bake, you volunteer, you save, you wait to do your roots, you pick up, you drop off, you remind, you pack, you heal, you guide, you advocate. You do it all.  You are wiser now than you ever could’ve imagined.  And for that, next year on Mother’s Day May 14th 2017 you deserve to be recognized. Even if I have to send you a card myself, I will.  Just send me your address. Because moms need to stick together #nomomleftbehind