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Happy Mother’s Day to Me!
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Happy Mother’s Day to You!
Happy Mother’s Day to EVERY mother every where!
There is so much to celebrate when you are a mother.
You made it through 9 long months of the gestation of your babies (three in my case).
You overcame sleep deprivation, sore breasts, changes in your body and discovered the restorative properties of a power nap.
You have held your breath when they teetered as they took their first steps, rode their first bike, pulled their first tooth, ate their first peanut butter sandwich.
You braved the cold in an arena watching them learn how to skate, learn how to play hockey and learned how win and learn how to lose.
You’ve sent them off to summer camp, to grade eight trips to Quebec and to university eight hours away (in my case).
You are a mother and you’ve managed not to lose a child in a store, hurt or otherwise throttle a child when they’ve done or said really stupid things (especially in front of your mother or mother-in-law).
You’ve made it… You’re a mom… (and a damn good one if you say so yourself… trust me… say it… few others will).
You deserve the praise.
You deserve the glory.
You deserve breakfast in bed.
You deserve to have the dishes done, the beds made, the laundry fluffed and folded (without any prompting).
You deserve a little pampering. A pat on the back. You deserve those… flowers… chocolate… heck, a whole spa day for goodness sake.
You’ve earned it.
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I’m wondering…how does all of that make you feel?
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I’ll tell you, I use to think when I was a young mom, that Mother’s Day was a celebration of me as a mom to my three beautiful children. I was celebrating the stretch marks and war wounds that only a mom seems to get. I was walking around like I invented motherhood. I was that good at it…or so I thought.
Then something changed. Very gradually. As you become more aware of the world around you. You relate to other moms whether they are in your community, at the playground or at your children’s school. You begin to see the commonalities that make you all similar. Then your circle of caregivers grows bigger yet again. You start reading stories about other mothers in other places… other countries. Maybe ones in the US or Mexico. Maybe moms in Europe or Asia. Maybe moms in developed and developing countries. As you begin to see the bigger picture, the collective experience that is parenting a child you take note that you are a very lucky mommy. You begin to see that there are so many ways to share this very special day with thousands…no hundreds of thousands of other mommies throughout the world.
And it all commenced because your eyes were opened to the possibilities.
Last fall, I worked on a wonderful campaign for World Vision Canada. It was probably my favourite campaign for all of 2014. I loved it because through the experience of my very close friend, Paula Schuck and her life-changing trip to Colombia, I got to see what the change in a mom’s life could do to impact an entire community. World Vision Canada works with women and children – families, really – from all over the world to help them create greater lives for themselves and their families.
Last fall I gave my husband and my children gifts from the world vision catalogue: the gift of sport and coaches, the gift of medicine (and multiple gifts), the gift of food (via a piglet and chicks) and the gift of supplying a classroom. I choose each one of these gifts because I thought they were meaningful and impactful and beneficial to individuals. I was happy to give my family these gifts because I knew one less box or bag under the Christmas tree would not be missed. They all loved the gifts because they had meaning.
Guess what?
Its my turn. It is my turn to ask for a gift that keeps giving back. A gift that will have impact and meaning. A gift that makes all those other materials gifts seem…well… less shiny.
I have but one request and it is this:
I would like a Healthy Mom and Baby Package from World Vision Canada. This package will help one women deliver her baby safely into this world. It will provide vitamins, a delivery kit as well as workshops and skills to help her be a better mother. This is the gift that will keep on giving because the Government of Canada will match my gift. We took advantage of the matching with my husband’s Christmas gift of medicine which was matched 9 X.
World Vision Canada is in over 90 countries worldwide, which also means that when disaster strikes they are often some of the first workers at the scene of earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, famines, droughts etcetera. Right now, I am following their good work providing disaster relief in Nepal. For more information and to see what they continue to do globally to help others remember to follow World Vision Canada on Facebook and on Twitter. Please consider meaningful Mothers Day gifts this year, both for giving and receiving.
Disclosure: I am a World Vision Canada Mom. I am working with World Vision Canada’s blogger outreach program through Thrifty Mom Media and as such I am compensated. My opinion is all my own.
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