Mother's Day now symbolizes something greater
- melmatulonis
- May 14, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: May 17, 2023
Dear Readers, I would be remiss if I neglected to reflect on my first Mother's Day in a blog about identity and new motherhood. Here we are, Sunday, May 14, 2023.
Today celebrates and honors the mothers and maternal figures in our lives and the important role they play in our society. A role I didn't think I would ever have. I've shared in earlier blogs that I never pictured myself being a mother when I looked in the crystal ball of my life. Every year in the middle of May, I gladly focused on those special women around me in my tribe... specifically my mother, mother-in-law and sister-in-laws. For the first time, it was me who was receiving cards, small gifts of adoration and well wishes. I opened the pink envelopes and read the written words from both Nick and Evangeline (she's a gifted writer for 6-months-old) and I started to feel the lump form in my throat and burning sensation in my eyes. I always felt joy watching the reactions of loved ones as they opened their gifts and saw their flowers. The gifts from my husband and young daughter made me feel an even deeper love and sense of peace. I kicked off this blog with a piece about struggling to find my new identity and losing myself in motherhood. I thought about this feeling yesterday when I attended a dear friend's 40th birthday party. The decades go by but the friendships, laughter and stories don't change. I'm lucky to have these kinds of people in my life. Most of the people there had known me since I was 13-14 years old; I had a different last name and was a carefree, single, young woman with the world at her fingertips.
That was a different season of my life, but there is a time for everything. Ecclesiastes 3 speaks to this.
This was long before I became known to some as "Evangeline's mom." Of course, she came up in conversation and how I was adjusting to motherhood. It's a big part of who I am and how I spend my days, so I was happy to share the stories with friends. Some could personally relate and some just got a good belly laugh.
Circling back to the title of this blog and today's events, Mother's Day now symbolizes a completeness in my life.
It fills a void in my heart I didn't know I had.
Melanie, I became a first time mother the day prior to Mother’s Day. My husband scrambled to find a Mother’s Day card at the last minute. I guess he should have anticipated the potential that I would be a mother that May. I found I appreciated my mother in a very different way upon becoming a mother myself. Happy First Mother’s Day to you!