The first Mother’s Day without your mom can feel like walking through a quiet room filled with echoes. Every advert, social media post, and flower display is a gentle reminder of what’s missing.
While the world celebrates with breakfasts in bed and heartfelt cards, you might just be trying to keep it together.
However, grief and love can coexist. Whether you light a candle, cook her favourite dish, or simply take a moment to be still, there are gentle ways to honour her presence even in her absence — and maybe, just maybe, feel a little less alone.
Grief is a complex and unpredictable journey, with no one-size-fits-all expression or limit on it. The Heather Stang publication mentions that Mother’s Day can magnify the absence of a mother in various ways, including the loss of tradition, reminders in stores, and social media.
The above source further states that the day is not just about grief; it’s about contrast—between what is and what was, between private pain and public celebration, and between silence in life and noise everywhere else. If this is hitting you harder than expected, you’re not broken, but grieving, and Mother’s Day has a way of pressing right on the most tender parts of that loss.
The Hallmark suggests that you spend time with family and friends who knew and loved your mom, take time for yourself, enjoy activities you might have enjoyed with her, or make her favourite foods. It is also advised that you write a letter expressing your feelings, take a mini road trip, and make a Mom playlist.
Take pictures, watch a Mom-movie, or write a letter of appreciation for mom, as the above source suggests. Putting your feelings for loved ones down in words after they’re gone can help relive special memories, cope with grief, and provide a meaningful keepsake to revisit when you want to relive a connection with them. Remember that those we’ve lost are just as worthy of our feelings of appreciation.
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