I see you. On this bright day full of flowers and joy. I see you fighting back the tears. I see you showing up in the only way that you can. I see those of you unable to get out of bed. I see those of you all dressed up and sitting in the pew with a smile on. I see all of you waiting for this day to be over and longing for better ones ahead.
I see you, the ones who lost your mom this year. This is the first year (or the twentieth) without her. There is a sadness like no other on a day about moms when you don’t have one on this earth anymore. The first year is hard, but I see you. I see you trying anyway. Even after 20 years have passed, this day still reminds you of her and all the things you didn’t get to do. It’s okay to grieve that lost time.
I see you, the ones longing for a baby of your own. Watching everyone around you hold their swollen bellies in triumphant joy. It’s joy you long to experience but may never get the chance to know. You are a childless mother, and you are seen and loved.
I see you. Yes you, the one who had to say goodbye to her baby far too soon. Her very lifeblood. The sting is heavy this year, and you don’t know what to do with your feelings. I see you grieving the future you will never get to have.
I see you, the ones raising someone else’s kids. You are selfless and kind, and you are a mother like no other. Whether they are with you for a month or a lifetime, they will have had the chance to feel a mother’s love because of you. That doesn’t make this day any easier, though, and I see you. Fighting to love those kids and better their lives. I see you stepping in and mothering them when their biological mom could not.
I see you, the ones who have stepped in. Unsure of how you fit, but finding your way. Though the kids weren’t born to you, you are part of their lives, and you’re doing so much for them even if they don’t see it yet.
I see you, the ones trying so hard to be thankful for the kids you do have while grieving the fact that you may never have any more. Trying not to sound ungrateful when they pray for a bigger family. On a day when families are celebrated.
I see you, whose mothers never took the time to love them the way they deserved to be loved. You are trying to do things differently. You are trying to show a love you were never shown. I see you breaking generational curses and paving the way for your kids to know the love and sacrifice of a mother.
Mother’s Day is beautiful. It is a way to celebrate women who have given so much of themselves. It is a day full of good food and laughter and flowers and homemade gifts. For many women, it’s also a day of sorrow and struggle and longing. I hope that no matter which side of Mother’s Day you are on this year, you do not feel forgotten.
by Jenny Albers 
by Jheri Jordan 
by Brook Hall 
