July 3, 2015 (Irene and Vernon)
It is hard to believe that my mom has been gone for over five years now. (My dad has been gone for over 27 years.) As I have gotten older, I more fully understand the sacrifices that mom and dad made to give us the life we have. My brothers and I have been blessed immensely.
After watching the craziness of the last year, I am grateful that my mom did not have to endure this. I can only imagine how devastating it would have been for her to be in a nursing home with no visitors allowed. It was hard enough to recover from a broken hip without having to endure isolation and loneliness on top of that.
Today, let's celebrate mom. Let's do it every day following today as well.
Also, let's offer a prayer and a kind gesture toward those who find this day difficult.
Some of you are experiencing Mother's Day for the first time since your mom died. Please accept my condolences. That first Mother's Day after the death of your mom is tough.
To all of you who were deprived of seeing your mother or grandmother in a nursing home over the last year, I am so sorry for the time you missed with them. If your mother or grandmother died while being locked up in a health care facility of any kind, and you were unable to see them in person because of the overbearing restrictions, I am deeply sorry for he lack of closure you experienced. I can't even begin to imagine the grief, and possibly an immense amount of anger and bitterness toward the situation.
Mothers who have lost a child carry serious grief with them. The source of loss may stem from a variety of factors. It could be a miscarriage, an abortion, death from illness, a car wreck or some other accident, or it may have been an intentional act to end one's own life. The circumstances may each carry different "triggering" factors which cause a wave of emotions to rise to the surface for the distraught parent at any moment. This can happen for years after the loss. If someone in your life is struggling today, just be there for them. They don't need answers. They need your presence.
Finally, I offer a word of encouragement to those who have had a deep desire to be a mother, but for one reason or another could not. I have no words to change the situation, but I do have the words to remind you that you are loved. I don't understand everything that happens in life, but I do know that in the midst of our darkest hour, God is still present within us. (I have had to remind myself of that fact numerous times throughout the course of my life.)
Although snow is in the forecast for us in the Mountain West beginning tomorrow, I hope many of you across the country are able to enjoy warmer temperatures, longer days, and the joys of being outside. I encourage you to get out and enjoy some family time together today if possible. The virus has taken many things from us over the last year. It is time now to be renewed in heart, mind, and spirit.
According to social media, it would be politically correct for me to wish you a "Happy Birthing Person Day". Yep. Don't think so.
Happy Mother's Day. Blessings to each of you!
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