Mourning Breaks

05/10/2026

Content⚠️: this is not a flowery Mother’s Day post, you may wish to scroll past.

As someone who has supported countless bereaved mothers and adult children, Mother’s Day is never just a Hallmark holiday to me.

I don’t know that it could be.
I don’t know that I’d ever want it to be.

I am always aware of the bigger picture, and I know that this day brings an endless array of emotions to the surface. If you’ve ever read Anne Lamott’s Mother’s Day posts, she uses the term “sheet metal loneliness” to describe what some feel on this day. She acknowledges the complexity and pain this day can bring.

Today I hold space for mothers and children who had painful childhoods, moms who couldn’t be the moms they’d hoped to be, those who’ve yearned to be mothers but for a billion reasons could not, those who are estranged from their children, or their mothers.

Today my heart recognizes the children of dead mothers, and the mothers of dead children most sorrowfully.

I honour grandmothers, aunties, women and non-binary souls who mother within their communities with boundless love and care.

If you know me or are currently a client of mine, you’ll know that my view is that grief is always political, that everything within our environment influences how, when, and IF we are afforded the privilege to grieve. We live in a time when politicians continue to usurp reproductive rights and weaponize parenthood. We’re witness to the horrors of a genocide in Gaza where tens of thousands of mothers, babies, and children are being murdered indiscriminately. Where pregnant women are losing their babies or giving birth under unimaginable circumstances. Globally, lands and families are being ripped apart by violence, displacement, detainment, and death, victims of political regimes and greed.

If your heart is feeling torn open and tender today, know that you’re not alone.

I see you, and I honour your grief with all of my being.

As a bereaved mother myself, this will never be just another Mother’s Day.

Artwork: Sliman Mansour
Photo: Mohammad Salem, Reuters (Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embraces the body of her 5yo niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike at Nasser Hospital, Gaza)

05/10/2026

If you’re holding the complexities that exist within a redefined life without children, or reflecting on a life lived without having children of your own this Mother’s Day, these little reminders come from (IG) — I saved these words to share again as they are so validating, so comforting.

And they remind us that we are whole, that expanding the definition of mothering can soften the ache. We mother in ways that aren’t always recognized. Perhaps you’ll find this supportive today, in some small and tender way.

“A Few Things I Hope You Remember:

You are not forgotten.

You are not less than.

You mother in so many beautiful, unseen ways — through your friendships, your care, your work, your love for your fur babies, your nieces/nephews, your community.

You are allowed to grieve and to protect your joy.

You are still whole, even if your path looks different than you imagined.”

💛
Wise words.

May you feel seen, and may your heart—and your grief—be held gently this weekend.

Feather: ©️CWituik

05/07/2026

Hello my lovely humans. Most of you already know I’ll be out of the office for a short period of time, tending to some important time-sensitive family matters.

In our time together in the counselling space, we talk A LOT 🙂 about the BOTH/AND of life, about holding multiple truths, emotions, and experiences in our hearts in the exact same moment.

This week I’m sitting firmly within this duality—holding space for celebration and for sorrow as our family navigates some new, unexpected and worrisome health news while also honouring a milestone hard-won achievement.

BOTH/AND.

Again.

Always.

In one of my favourite books on the bookshelf in my office, Pema Chödrön writes:

“Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”

Indeed.

I’ll see you soon…I won’t be gone long. If you are a current client of Mourning Breaks, you may continue to schedule your counselling sessions as usual while I’m out of the office.

If you’re new to Mourning Breaks, welcome! 💛
Kindly note that I’ll be responding to emails and new inquiries upon my return so I can devote my full attention where it needs to be this week.

Thank you for your patience, and your kind understanding. After all, we’re all in this wild, unpredictable life together! 🥰

(Quote from: When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times)

05/05/2026

May 5 is Red Dress Day, the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people.

Today, we honour the lives stolen, the families and communities who continue to seek truth and justice, and the Indigenous leaders, advocates, and grassroots organizers who have carried this work forward. The red dress is a powerful symbol of loss, remembrance, resistance, and the ongoing impacts of colonial and gender-based violence.

As social workers, we have a responsibility to confront the systems that perpetuate racism, sexism, and colonialism, and to support Indigenous communities in their demands for safety, sovereignty, justice, and accountability.

At CASW, we also recognize the role the social work profession has played in perpetuating colonial violence. We remain committed to reconciliation, accountability, and meaningful change.

Read CASW’s Statement of Apology and Commitment to Reconciliation: https://buff.ly/4b4uVDN

Learn more, read stories, and access resources through NWAC’s Safe Passage site: https://buff.ly/3gwrM8J

05/05/2026

💛💫❤️‍🩹🪶❤️

05/05/2026

🪶❤️❤️‍🩹✨💫

05/05/2026

05/02/2026

This Sunday, May 3rd, is International Bereaved Mother’s Day, a day created in 2010 to honour and celebrate mothers who carry some—perhaps all—of their children in their hearts rather than their arms.💛

Mothers who are grieving infertility, pregnancy loss, the death of their babies and children, at any age, are often left with deep heartache on Mother’s Day. Mothers around the world are currently suffering the devastation of their children being killed in unfathomable circumstances, justified by inhumane, politically-fuelled ideologies.

Bereaved Mother’s Day provides all of these grieving moms with an opportunity to be seen as mothers, to talk about their children—the ones hoped for, the ones who died, the ones who were killed—in a world that often would rather we didn’t.

If you are grieving the loss of a child, of what might have been, I see you.

I honour you, your hopes and dreams, your children. As a bereaved mother, too, I grieve alongside you.

If there is someone in your life who is carrying this sorrow, please let them know you are thinking of them, and share in their memories if they choose to share with you. It is an honour and privilege to be present in these moments with a bereaved mom.

04/29/2026

This is lovely! 🥰 A relaxed, community-based grief support option being offered at Jess Jones Recreation Therapy Inc. in Hyde Park!

Oh! I spy Stevie Bees new book on the JJRT bookshelf! 💙

04/28/2026

On National Day of Mourning, another supportive resource for you from our friends at Canadian Virtual Hospice 💛

Today marks a National Day of Mourning for those who have been injured or have lost their lives due to workplace accidents. The loss of a co-worker affects each person differently. This free online module aims to help you understand your grief https://buff.ly/3NmZlbh

04/28/2026

Words hold a lot of power and have significant impact. Choose them wisely. 💛