Celebrate Mother's Day Every Day of the Year!

Moms love Mother’s Day and with good reason! When else are we pampered with flowers, appreciation and even breakfast in bed? It’s a great feeling to have our family members take the time and recognize what we do for them every day.

However as Mother’s day draws to a close and the festivities end, the endless responsibilities return and the weight of our privileged position reappears in full force.

Mothers Achieve Amazing Feats on a Daily Basis

It’s really important for us as mothers to acknowledge the amazing feats that we accomplish every day. Mothers particularly, develop amazing skills and achieve so many great things that encompass so many areas.

We:

organize our homes and keep them running
Develop healthy food plans for our families, and shop for and cook them
Clean our homes and clean up messes myriad times in a day
Budget, pay bills and mitigate expenses
Take care of our children’s physical and emotional needs.
Create daily activities for our children
Navigate arguments and keep the peace
We are teachers in our own right and supervise our children’s educational needs.
Analyze important data and make important medical decisions for the health of our families
Assess maintenance and repairs and arrange service and repair calls
Take care of sick children and are up many nights caring for needy children
Are quintessential chauffeurs, navigating traffic more expertly than the most aggressive taxi driver
Are a mate, a partner and take care of all of our partners physical and emotional needs
And we try to take care of our own simple needs (very erratically)

And in addition to all of this, many of us manage full and part-time jobs to boot!

What is our main problem when perusing all of the above?

It is not that we are exhausted and emotionally drained at the end of the day. It is not that we do it all after sleepless nights. And it is not the never-ending chores, expenses, and stress.

Our Greatest Enemy

What is our biggest challenge and perhaps our greatest enemy? It is none other than… ourselves!

After working so hard to accomplish all of the above with aplomb, instead of praising ourselves and patting ourselves on the back for all of the amazing things that we do in a day, we choose to beat ourselves up.

We did this wrong, we were too hard on our kids, out friend manages to keep her home so much neater and the list of grievances goes on and on.

Enough!

Mother’s day sends an important message and it’s one that we moms really need to hear.

We do so much, we care of so much, we give so much and that should be applauded. Not only by others but by you! And you should applaud yourself every day of the year! The things that we do should be acknowledged not just on Mother’s day but on every day of the year.

Moms that get down on themselves (is there a mom that doesn’t?) need to start approaching their mom-hood from a completely different angle.

We Are More than Enough!

We are enough! Simple. Does that mean that there is still room to grow? Of course. Everyone in whatever capacity they serve needs to continually seek to improve no matter what they do. That is a part of life. And that is the blessing of experience.

However, beating ourselves up because we don’t have the experience or knowledge is counterproductive. It doesn’t make us better or do our job more productively.

Beating ourselves up makes us sluggish, sad and lacking in motivation.

So how do we banish this debilitating habit?

It’s not easy but it can be done. The first step is to acknowledge that we’re not alone.

We belong to an amazing clan of women that toil and sacrifice for their families and extended families and communities, everyday single day.

It is because we carry such great weight and responsibility that we question our performance and wish to do better.

Reading the biographies and autobiographies of many of our great leaders can help us see that even great leaders, were often riddled with great doubt as they made important and life-changing decisions.

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing.

The worst thing you can do is nothing.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

With great responsibility comes great and reckoning decisions. It is no wonder that we are often filled with doubt. We are responsible for the raising of the next generation. What an awesome obligation!

So with all of the responsibility, how can we stand up to the challenge and still feel positive and happy?

Recognize and Take Pride in All that You Do (not just on Mother’s Day)

The first step is to recognize the huge job that we have and the many skills that we activate each day to perform our job as mothers. The mere recognition should give us cause to take pride in what we do.

Most importantly when we are lacking in knowledge or experience it is not a reason to feel bad about ourselves.

If you don’t know how to cook a certain dish or program a device what do you do? You seek out the information you need. You don’t feel bad about yourself that you don’t have the information – you look to find the information that you need. Right?

So it’s the same thing when it comes to parenting. Each new stage in a child’s life is different from the one before and requires new skills and knowledge from the parent’s side. Not having the knowledge or skill does not make the parent bad! It just means that s/he needs knowledge that s/he doesn’t have.

Gain the Skills

Many parents feel bad when they yell at their kids and don’t know how to change the pattern. Every parent gets annoyed once in awhile and no child will be permanently damaged from being yelled at once in a while. However, we can gain skills and change negative patterns in our homes.

Here is a post that can help with this: How to Stop the Yelling and Restore Calm

Every one of us has their own unique challenges and no two challenges are alike. But one thing that you can be sure of is that every mother has their challenge.
One mother might look like she has it all together, but maybe one of her children is driving her crazy. Another mother might fall apart at bedtime. (After all her own mother always had her kids in bed by 7:30!)

You are not alone, we all struggle and we all need to grow.

And that is why you should be celebrating Mother’s day every day of the year. Focus on what you do accomplish every day of the year. Focus on the tear you wiped, the little hand you held and the amazing dinner that you put on the table.

Mother’s day is not one day. It is every day of the year. Your accomplishments will carry over into the next generation and beyond.

Are their areas that you’re not doing so great in? Sure there are. But seek out solutions, from friends, family and books, online posts and a coach if necessary. But while you are doing all of that, don’t forget to pat yourself on the back and remember all the things that you are doing right.

Keep in mind the greatness of motherhood and the absolutely amazing everyday achievement. And don’t forget to wish yourself a Happy Mothe’s day. Every day of the year!

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