Today is Mother’s day! Celebrate your mother for who she is! Today is the one day in the year we do something special for them. But aren’t they amazing all year long? We thank them for all the great things they do for us. For all their amazingness… We take them out, send them flowers…
What if instead, you were to celebrate how beautifully imperfect she is. All the little things you would want to change about her. All the little things that make you shake your head sometimes. They are making her special. Who she is! They make you laugh later as you remember when she had punished you for breaking your brother’s toys, when she was waiting for you in the living room when you came home after the curfew, when she kept asking you to clean your room, when she gave you all these pieces of advice about life, all things you thought you knew, all things that annoyed you at the time because you knew she was so right… These are the things that you will miss the most if one day she goes…
I personally speak to my Mom almost every day. Sometimes, I spend an hour on the phone with her and my husband asks afterwards: “So? How is your mom? What’s new?” And I say: “Not much.” Then he asks: “What did you talk about for an hour?” The reality is, we don’t really talk about anything specific. Most times, I can’t even remember what we discussed. We just chat, about everything and anything. We spend time together. That’s all.
Now, I am very lucky because, when there is actually something to talk about, and I need an ear, an advisor, my Mom is always there for me. She always finds the words to calm me down, to cheer me up, to keep me going, to bring a new perspective on things. I used to not want her advice. Until I realized that it is specifically the unwanted advice that I received from her that made the most dramatic difference in my growth.
Review all the things that your mother does for you (even if they make you shake your head) and change your mindset. Cherish these things. Love her more for that. Feel how blessed you are.
When you were born, you did not come out with an instruction manual. We are all very different and each of us is unique. You were quite the puzzle to understand. But she never stopped trying to get you. And even today, even if sometimes there are differences between you and your mom, she is more likely the one that understands and knows you best! You are so lucky!
More likely, you have a lot of your mother in your own character, hopefully, you have her kindness, her unconditional love, her strength, her drive, the little things that make her and you very special.
The ability to see things normally is no small thing. To see things and people as they are is to take off all the fluff and go to the core. Loving the ordinary, not the wonderful. And then, appreciating that real wonder of being beautifully imperfect!
Happy Mother’s Day! Je t’aime Maman!