For the Mothers Who Can’t Be With Their Children on Mother's Day

Mother’s Day Isn’t a Hallmark Moment for Everyone

The Mighty Tim Inconnu from Dayton, United States of America, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

For all the times you hear, “Happy Mother’s Day.” There are many for whom sadness will rule the day. Many like me have already lost their mothers and grandmothers. My maternal grandmother passed away on Mother’s Day, which was only fitting if you knew her. She poured into two sets of grandchildren, each unaware of what she did for the other.

For various reasons, some mothers can’t be with their children on this holiday. Children aren’t supposed to die before their parents, but sometimes they do. Some children are lost to the streets, whether it be drugs or prostitution. Others are imprisoned, and choices might be made not to visit on Mother’s Day, spending that time with others. Some mothers might physically be with their children, yet dementia has robbed them of the knowledge of their presence.

Many other scenarios flooded my mind as I thought of these mothers. I thought of those undergoing involuntary family separations at the border or those who sent their children alone because of fearful conditions at home. Some mothers may have been a danger to their children and had them removed. Some children were kidnapped, possibly sexually trafficked. Other children ran away.

I don’t mean to imply that their suffering is greater than others. I know people who never fully recovered from the loss of their mother. Some mothers carry guilt because they are estranged from their children, who may have sworn never to see them again, and that their mother will never see their grandchildren.

Much like the men and women who stay in on Valentine’s Day because they have no Valentine. There are people who, for several reasons, are sad on Mother’s Day, some beyond those I’ve mentioned. If there’s someone you’d typically see at church who wasn’t there, or that you usually talk to on the phone but haven’t heard from. Consider calling them to say hello, and maybe don’t lead with Happy Mother’s Day. A little human contact may be enough.