Why I Am Celebrating Mother’s Day Early This Year
by Beth
Gus and Beth
For years after our son Gus was born, I begged my husband Mike not to get me a gift for Mother’s Day. “I’m not your mother!” I told him.
Our son Gus has severe mental and physical disabilities — he doesn’t understand what Mother’s Day is. Gus wouldn’t be making me a card. He wouldn’t be presenting me with dandelions picked especially for me. I knew that. But I was determined not to let any of that bother me. I knew I was a good mother, and I knew my son loved me in his own special way.
And then one year (Gus must have been five or six), I burst into tears on Mother’s Day. “I’ll never get to celebrate like all the other mothers do!” I wailed. Poor Mike didn’t know what to do.
This article in Psych Central wishing a happy Mother’s Day to special moms reassured me that I am not alone when it comes to feeling a bit of sadness on Mother’s Day. The article acknowledges that while parents raising a disabled or chronically ill child may have melancholy moments, they are often followed by a renewed commitment “that comes from love and hope and determination.”
Ever since that outburst of mine, we’ve gone out of our way to celebrate Mother’s Day. This year we’re even starting a week early. Tomorrow we’re heading to Wisconsin to spend the day with our grown son in his group home.
We’re proud of Gus. I’m proud to be his mom and happy to celebrate as a family. After we kiss Gus goodbye, Gus’ dad and I plan on spending Saturday night in a nice hotel. So yes, we’re celebrating Mother’s Day this year, and we’re starting early. On May 5, a week before official Mother’s Day, I’ll be ordering room service. After all, breakfast in bed is a Mother’s Day tradition!
June 18th, 2023 at 10:07 am
Heya.
After my son and daughter were born I decided to live without gifts. Instead in order to have fun we visited museums and other places of interest. And alternatively we tend to do family baking lessons and competitions. These take place at home once a week on Saturday mornings in addition to save money too. During the lockdowns we did lots of fun puzzles at night time when we could not get to sleep. We hosted family barbecue once a month.
We also read story books out loud. We even sang to one another from time to time in addition to liven up things. We collected old pine cones and leaves to use as part of art lessons. We took so many catnaps. Once or twice we baked sweets. We danced around the place in question as a means of having fun.