05/11/2026
I could fill pages and pages with all the thoughts I’ve had as I think about Mother’s Day this year: my 4+ years as a single mom are coming to a close, and I’ve thought about lessons I’ve learned about life and motherhood during those years, and I’ve thought about how isolating it can be to be a parent with no one to turn to in the moments when you need it most, and about the people who have filled in the gaps in ways no one ever imagined. I’ve thought about how Mother’s Day can be a painful reminder of things you wish were, but aren’t, and about loved ones who hold grief and loss on this day rather than their little ones. I’ve thought about how, as the “magic maker” of the family, Mother’s Day has only been made special for me by the labor of the women around me—daycare providers and ladies at church and the girls who are my friends—and how I want to give back and help the people in my life feel loved and appreciated, too, and how every mom I know spends this day celebrating the ones who made them mothers. The sacred responsibility of parenthood is such an incredible gift, and although I have nothing profound to say that’s never been said, I am so grateful for the beautiful, beautiful moments I get to capture.
I see the freckles on my daughter’s face and am filled with love. I hear her cry when she scrapes her shoulder and I run to her as though I can fix it. I feel her tiny lips brush my cheeks with the exaggerated sounds and I am complete. The love we learn is so deep and poignant, there are no words to fully describe it, but I am grateful for all the challenges and miracles and moments and mysteries that make motherhood so beautiful.
Happy Mother’s Day🩷
