Be kind and generous this #MothersDay

Be kind and generous. 

These lines stuck in my head when I watched the 2015 Disney movie Cinderella with my family in theatres a few weeks back. At first I thought it was because it was sage advice, only after the movie did I realize it was because it reminded me ever so much of my own mom.

 
https://youtu.be/5ubbQ8jYLWM

For anyone who has lost a parent, I’d like to think we’re all the same. That we grieve the same, that we hold on to memories the same and that we move on the same. The reality however is that we are not. We are each very different. It has been ten and a half years since my mom passed away and even within my family, my siblings and I each deal with her passing very differently. We remember moments, memories and emotions differently. 

I have written about celebrating mother’s day without a mother before. I have also written about sharing my memories of my own mom with my kids who never had the opportunity to meet her so that they can know who she was, how she lived, what she loved.

Mother’s Day hits me hard. Although ten and a half years have passed, there remains an air of sombreness. The sadness remains though an increasing sense of hope blossoms with each year that passes. The same way I was blessed with amazing memories of my mom, I need to allow my own children to create theirs with me. We remember my mom, honour my mother in law, their aunts and other important women in our lives with simple but kind acts of love. Mother’s Day for me has never been about big expensive gifts or grand gestures (though I’m not exactly saying no either 😉 ). In fact, some of my fondest memories of this holiday include homemade cards, breakfast in bed and a homemade gift or even craft. I collect these items like a bee collects honey and cherish them even more.

In honour of all the amazing moms out there, let’s all take a pledge to show a little more kindness, a little more generosity and pay it forward.