HEALTY YOU

For the Love of Mothers

STORY MICHELLE JOHNS

MA, LPC-MHSP (TEMP), NCC, 200 HR E-RTY, 500 HR RYT

this writing is a celebration of mothers. Whether you are a mother or not, you have life because of your mother. I recognize there are many difficult situations surrounding mothers, nevertheless this month, I want to focus on the beauty of motherhood. As a Clinical Mental Health Counselor (TLPCMHSP) and a trauma informed yoga teacher, my career is focused on empowering women to heal and overcome emotional, physical and verbal abuse. My work includes helping women reconnect to their body and find it a safe place to be after being abused and harmed in unimaginable ways. My focus is to be a safe place to hold space for women and help them find their path toward restoration through transformation of the relationship they hold with all the parts that make up the whole of their being. I celebrate mothers and all that they bring to humanity—the special and unique gifts that make them an important part of giving and sustaining life. As I spend my days with women who have been marginalized and minimized by unexpected and uninvited life events, I celebrate the graceful resilience I witness in their overcoming and rebounding to persevere toward the life they desire to create. For many that includes motherhood, despite unforeseen and unwarranted hardships. The calling to motherhood is often the dearest of all invitations. To quote my article in last May’s issue of At Home, “Whether you are [a parent] or not, you are a product of your parents. Whether you knew your parents well or not at all, they played a significant role in your development as a human. Parents are the most influential people in our lives. It is from our parents we inherit our legacy burdens and gifts.” I invite you to pause for a moment of gratitude for your mother; if for nothing else, for giving you life. If you are breathing right now in a body with flowing blood and a beating heart, it is because a mother carried you to term and gave you life. Mothers are not perfect people, but most mothers seek to give their best to their children each and every day. Mothers work hard to create harmony between their career and family. Mothers sacrifice a career outside the home to stay at home fulltime with their children. Mothers homeschool their children. Mothers manage multiple schedules for multiple family members. Mothers ensure their families are fed breakfast, lunch and dinner at home or on the go. Mothers heal wounds physically and emotionally throughout every stage of development. Mothers make celebrations grand and personal. Mothers encourage their children to live out their dreams.

Mothers are the most influential people in our lives. While there may be many things we wish they did or would do differently, we are almost always grateful for them. We seek their advice and help when we plan an event, go to an event, cook our first meals, ask out our first date, go on our first date, have our first heartbreak, break our first heart, struggle with a bully, face a challenging coach or teacher, seek our first job, move into our first home away from home, and start our own branch of the family.

Motherhood doesn’t always go as planned. The combination of family members, life experiences and community can present unexpected challenges. Mothers experience fear, anxiety, worry and tears alongside laughter, joy, peace and assurance. Mothers set boundaries to keep their children safe and young people inevitably push those limits in their quest for independence. Every time, though, they discover a mother’s love is unyielding and limitless. In your mother’s arms you find your greatest comfort and her voice can bring peace in any storm. A mother’s words of wisdom provide guidance during uncertainty. A mother is her child’s biggest cheerleader and greatest fan.

Perhaps this month, you can be your mother’s biggest cheerleader and greatest fan. Following are some ways you can celebrate your mum, momma, mother, mom, mommy…

1. Make her a homemade card. 2. Make a date for you and your mother to do something special.

3. Give her a bouquet of flowers.

4. Take a picture of you and your mother and frame it for her.

5. Give her a self-care box with Epsom salts and a gift card for a massage.

**If your family has a trauma history due to parental issues, please seek the help of a professional counselor to guide you through the journey of healing and connection. The celebratory focus of this piece is not intended to minimize the hurt and suffering many people experience from their parents or due to not becoming a parent. It is, as noted, intended to celebrate the good that is part of the gifts of mothers and motherhood. The writer of this piece has overcome many struggles due to childhood developmental trauma and is sensitive to the challenges of such trauma.

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