05/12/2024
Some food for thought. It may not be a « happy » Mother’s Day for some. Thanks to Annie Wright for this essay.
Long ago, I stopped wishing anyone (and especially not readers of my newsletters) “Happy Mother’s Day!”
Why?
Because the day may not be (and is not for many) “happy.”
It’s the same reason why I take a pause when someone shares that they are pregnant – automatically rushing to say “Congratulations!” may not be how they’re feeling about the news. So instead I ask, “How are you feeling about this?” and take my cues from there.
So today, I won’t wish you a “Happy Mother’s Day” but I will offer you a new essay on the topic. It’s a share on the origins of the day (well-intentioned perhaps but nonetheless triggering to me as a feminist), the complexity I hold the day with both because of my role as a childhood trauma therapist, a woman breathing the toxic poison of the Patriarchy, and as a mother myself.
The older I get, the more complex, nuanced, and gray zone this second Sunday of May becomes for me.
If you, like me, don’t experience this as a “single note” national holiday, if it feels complex for one or more reasons for you, I hope that you’ll find comfort, validation, and normalizing in what I share today. I'll link to it in my bio. I welcome your thoughts.
https://loom.ly/xKYWNI0
