{"id":505,"date":"2023-05-13T13:31:59","date_gmt":"2023-05-13T18:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/?p=505"},"modified":"2025-05-02T14:43:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T19:43:34","slug":"what-does-mothers-day-look-like-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/2023\/05\/13\/what-does-mothers-day-look-like-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Mother\u2019s Day Look Like for You?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Now that we are living in that sweet spot of life, where we have time, health and resources, we may expect that Mother\u2019s Day will be a sweet day as well. Yet, by now, many of our mothers have died or live far away and our children are now adults with families of their own. For many of us, Mother\u2019s Day can feel lonely, and anything but sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Years as a Mom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My early years as a mom, Mother\u2019s Day was a time of handmade cards, cut flowers from my garden, and clanging from the kitchen as the children made me Breakfast in Bed. One year, later in life, I sensed that my three sons had completely forgotten about the holiday, and I asked what they had gotten for me. With shocked looks on their faces they admitted they didn\u2019t do anything or make any plans. I made what I thought was a simple request. We would all spend one hour together in the yard pulling weeds. After some groaning, they acquiesced, and we spent a productive hour cleaning the yard. I\u2019d like to say they never forgot Mother\u2019s Day again, but they surely never forgot that day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother of Adult Children<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a mother of adult sons, I quickly realized that once they were married and had children of their own, I was no longer their priority, which is just as it should be. However, once they were married, their wives took first place and then the mothers of their wives took second place, leaving me in third place. As I shared that this morning, as my trainer said, \u201cAt least you\u2019re on the podium!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a fantasy of Mother\u2019s Day with smiling faces, bouquets of flowers and boxes of chocolates. Mom sits in a chair and her adoring children dote on her. Do you really want flowers and chocolates? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gift of Time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As I asked other mothers what their ideal Mother\u2019s Day looks like, it unanimously came down to one thing: TIME. We just want to spend time with our children. It may not even be on the specific day, but we want time to be with them. We\u2019d like a day that is stress free, and relaxing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indecision is a huge complicating factor for moms like us. Our adult children aren\u2019t able to commit to an activity or plan until it is really too late. I think it is across the board with this generation. One mom said her children hadn\u2019t decided where they wanted to spend Mother\u2019s Day until five days ago. When they did decide, the daughter didn\u2019t phone for reservations until Friday and by then, there were no tables available at any of the chosen four restaurants. As planning in advance seems to be an anathema to this generation, the daughter was surprised that no reservations were available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Realistic Expectations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is important that we be alert to our expectations of the day and be realistic. If we examine our wishes, what we really want is time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, Mother\u2019s Day can be a difficult day for many. There are women in your life who never had children, who have prodigal children, who have children who are living far away, and\/or whose mother has died. Often, we have unrealistic expectations which leave us in the depths of disappointment. Reach out to others for whom this day is especially difficult, have a thankful heart for the blessing you do have. Do something for others. Several friends suggested sending cards to first time moms or single moms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are like me and do not have the perfect Hallmark setting, how can you adjust your expectations and your thinking to have a better day? What will you do differently this year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lauren Littauer Briggs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Through her speaking and writing,\u00a0Lauren<\/a>\u00a0encourages people with her heartfelt messages and practical presentations.\u00a0She is the author of\u00a0The Art of Helping<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 What to say and Do When Someone is Hurting.\u00a0 Lauren and her family are active in both church and community choral groups. She and her husband live in Redlands, CA. They own Briggs and Coops Coins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I asked other mothers what their ideal Mother\u2019s Day looks like, it unanimously came down to one thing: TIME. We just want to spend time with our children. It may not even be on the specific day, but we want time to be with them. We\u2019d like a day that is stress free, and relaxing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[61,126],"class_list":["post-505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-wellness","category-transitions","tag-best-life","tag-mothers-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1968,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505\/revisions\/1968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}