When Mother’s Day Feels Complicated

As Mother’s Day approaches, I keep thinking about how complicated this day can feel for grieving people.

For some, it’s beautiful.
For others, it’s heartbreaking.
And for many, it’s somehow both at the same time.

Mother’s Day can stir up the ache of missing your mom.
It can remind you of the phone call you can’t make anymore. The card you can’t send. The hug you would give anything to have again.

For some people, this day brings grief over the relationship they wish they’d had.
For others, it highlights the pain of becoming motherless far too soon.

And sometimes, the hardest part is watching the world celebrate while quietly carrying heartbreak that nobody else can see.

I think holidays like this can make grief feel especially isolating because the rest of the world keeps moving as though everyone is experiencing the day the same way.

But they’re not.

Some people will spend this weekend smiling through tears.
Some will avoid social media altogether.
Some will buy flowers for a cemetery instead of a kitchen table.
Some will replay old voicemails just to hear her voice again.

And some people will simply try to make it through the day without falling apart.

If Mother’s Day feels heavy for you this year, I hope you know there is nothing wrong with the way you’re feeling.

You do not have to force yourself to be cheerful.
You do not have to explain your sadness.
And you do not have to move through this day the way everyone else does.

You’re allowed to step back.
You’re allowed to cry.
You’re allowed to remember.
You’re allowed to protect your heart.

Grief has a way of showing up around the people we love most — especially on the days meant to celebrate them.

So if this weekend feels tender for you, please know you are not alone in that.

There are so many people quietly carrying love and loss side by side.

And if you’re one of them, I’m sending you extra gentleness this Mother’s Day.