Hello Mother’s Day 2018: Love to All Mothers
Mother’s Day can be wonderful. It can also be hard. We at Hello Mom wrote letters to moms in our lives to acknowledge the struggles our relationships have endured and to celebrate love in all its complicated and unique forms.
This is the fifth blog post in a five-part Mother’s Day series. The others:
Celebration and Grief |Leading by Example |Self-Forgiveness |Resilience
Dear Mama*,
First things first — HAPPIEST OF MOTHER’S DAYS! Being a group of moms ourselves, today is a big deal for our Hello Mom family. Just over a year ago, we set out to transform the motherhood experience, replacing a whole lot of judgement with even more encouragement. We felt the weight of conflicting expectations and sky-high standards put upon us by the often well-intentioned, sometimes clueless masses. More often than not, we found ourselves being our own worst critics.
I know you know exactly what I’m talking about. We live in a society bombarding us with, “You’re not doing enough,” and “You’re doing too much,” or my personal favorite, “That’s not how I would have done it.” It’s next to impossible not to start hearing your own internal voice repeat those same messages day in and day out. We exist to lovingly tell that particular negative voice in your head to shut up.
This is my love letter to you. I’m not writing this as “Courtney, Co-Founder of Hello Mom.” I’m writing it as “Courtney, the imperfect human who is trying her damnedest to raise two tiny — and also imperfect — humans.” The truth of the matter is, we send pro-mom text messages because we too need to hear the same words of encouragement. I’m working to silence that gross, annoying, naysaying voice in my own head just as much as I’m working to silence it in yours.
I think you’re a boss mom and a marvelous woman. Your kids are lucky they have you teaching them how to be a quality person. I’m lucky your kids have you. It means there are less crappy people in the world that I may have to interact with. It means my children have a better chance of surrounding themselves with compassionate, honest people who bring out their best qualities. All because you are someone’s mom.
Your style of mothering is unlike anyone else’s. When you don’t trust your own instincts, we all miss out. You’re thoughtful, capable and clever. You’re straight up gifted. I know I could learn a lot from you. This mother thing that we’re doing side by side is HARD, but I’m not worried because I have unwavering faith in you. You encourage me to have that same unwavering faith in myself. Being there for each other is a big part of it, but being there for yourself is everything. My Mother’s Day wish (getting wishes granted is part of this holiday, right?) is that you can be there for yourself. Tell yourself that mistakes are a part of the job, and making those mistakes only propel your abilities higher. Tell yourself that you rule. Because you rule. So. Very. Hard.
Everything we’re doing at Hello Mom is for you. I’m beyond grateful that you’ve decided to give us shot. Hopefully we’re playing a part in turning those disparaging thoughts into uplifting ones. You deserve every single uplifting word. No doubt about it.
Hugs and high fives from your newest mom-friend,
Courtney
*If you picked up on this Tu Pac reference, then you are my spirit animal. Find me on Twitter and we can talk about who is the true supreme high goddess of the 90s — T-Boz, Chilli or Left Eye.
