Mother's Day and Grief

There can be many shades of emotions on Mother's Day.  Different paths for everyone- some lead to joy, and others lead to heartache.  The gift is to be able to compassionately recognize all of these pathways and honor them.  

Mother's Day is a day to celebrate a mother or mother figure.  It's a day that is expected to be filled with joy and celebration, yet for many, this day brings heartache and sadness.

How can we support and acknowledge the heartache of those grieving on this day?  With love, compassion and empathy.

Reach out to those suffering this Mother's Day.  Let them know you are thinking about them.  Acknowledge that this may be difficult, and you are there to support them.  

Mother's Day can be very hard and emotional for the mothers whose children have died - regardless of the age, those struggling to become mothers, those
that are estranged or have a fragmented relationship with a mother or mother figure, those that lovingly chose adoption, and often step moms.....Obviously this is not the full list of those impacted by grief on Mother's Day.

As we know, death is such a difficult subject to broach, but so is acknowledging grief.  However, when a mother is grieving the death of her child, regardless if miscarriage, stillbirth, or death at any age,  remember that the simplest gestures of acknowledgement are quite meaningful.  

Acknowledgement can come in many ways, such as saying the name of the child, continuing to keep in touch with the bereaved mother, regardless of how much time has passed, and its valuable to remember that a mother will never "get over the death of her child".  Become willing to learn tools on how to offer support. 

Remember, that in a mother's darkest hours, the gift of listening and being emotionally present, allows for the waves of grief to witnessed and walked through.