I know it's trendy to pretend that Mother's Day is a holiday that none of us really care about. We scoff at the idea of such a holiday, sharing articles that claim that even the woman who invented Mother's Day hated it and wished she had never created the darn day.
But the truth is, no matter how much we know we don't need a special brunch or a charm bracelet or a last-minute gift that our husband might run out and get us from the grocery store, Mother's Day is still a special day, especially to every mother who is celebrating for the first time this year.
So this year, I'm giving us mothers — all types of mothers — the permission to be celebrated
To you, the first-time mother who dreamed of the day that you could proudly claim the title of sleep-deprived mother.
To you, the first-time mother whose heart feels both joy and pain on this day, thinking of the little ones who came before the baby you hold in your arms.
To you, the first-time mother who wishes you could tell your own mother how much you love her just one more time.
To you, the first-time mother who is wondering if motherhood is supposed to feel quite this way
To you, the first-time mother who is wondering when it's going to be as hard as everyone keeps saying.
To you, the first time mother who is wondering how it can still be this hard, even though you thought you were totally prepared.
To you, the first-time mother who just wants a nap and cries at how good that first burst of hot water spraying on your sore back in the shower feels.
To you, the first-time mother crying over breasts that feel like they are failing you.
To you, the first-time mother who is thanking her lucky stars that breastfeeding is as natural as she hoped it would be.
To you, the first-time mother who is breathing a sigh of relief to the gods who invented formula
To you, the first-time mother whose pregnancy was a journey of paperwork and hope and tears and mad dashes to the store when the phone call came that was much longer than nine months.
To you, the first-time mother who bought the wraps and read the articles and was shocked to find that your baby is much happier hanging on his blanket on the floor.
To you, the first-time mother who hugs her baby close to her chest and never wants to let go—even through an aching back.
To you, the first-time mother who kind of sort of really hates her husband for not having boobs
To you, the first-time mother who had a foodgasm when she ate that first post-birth meal and couldn't give a crap about getting her body "back."
To you, the first-time mother who is rocking the flat stomach after birth and is a "real" woman in every sense of the word.
To you, the first-time mother who feels like a fraud and is wondering when someone will catch on.
To you, the first-time mother who dared to speak up at her postpartum appointment and got the help she needed.
To you, the mother of one or two or many who will never forget what it was like to feel bowled over by the force of a wave of love so big it swallowed us whole and rebirthed us from women to mothers:
Happy Mother's Day
