Fraught

Mother's Day is a lovely holiday.  I am happy to have the honor of celebrating Mom for all she has done.

But it's also a fraught holiday for:

Children of all ages who have lost a mother

Mothers who have lost a child

Children and mothers who don't get along

Women who didn't have kids but wanted them

Women who didn't have kids, didn't want them, but feel like they somehow failed at adulthood*

Women who had kids and didn't want them

Women who had kids, did want them and sometimes feel bad for wishing they hadn't had kids

Women who don't feel like good mothers




Children who didn't have a good mother

Children who don't feel like they were good to their mother

And so on...

What I'm saying is, be patient and kind.

And hang in there.

It's one day of the year, and we're all doing our best.

ae

*I'm not saying I identify, but...