A Sacred Connection

As Mother’s Day approaches (May 9th!), I have found myself reflecting more on my relationship with my mother, and the mother-daughter connection in general. I think there is something so special about this inherent bond between two women. If you think about it, this bond is a continuation of ancestry, tradition, and a long-lasting connection that spans generations.

When a woman has a daughter, she is bringing a girl into the world that is 50% of her own life after spending nine months growing and sustaining her. That in itself is a meaningful feat…and then a mother spends the rest of her life working to nurture that baby girl into a woman. A piece of herself existing in its own life, growing and eventually becoming independent.

Mother’s Day is a chance to celebrate this relationship deeply because being a mother is more than just changing diapers, school drop-offs, and eventually crying at her wedding. Motherhood is sacrifice, wisdom, mutual growth, guidance, and the manifestation of a biological bond between a woman and her daughter.

Through the Years and Tears

When a woman first has a daughter, there is love and nurturing to foster this new life and introduce her to the world. Then, as time goes on, parenthood turns into a relationship; maturity, perspective, and a newfound love turns a mother and daughter into inherent accountability partners and best friends. As a mother of a girl, but also a daughter of another, I’ve experienced this fluctuating relationship between a mother and her daughter through the years and am blessed to be able to feel that both of them are best friends to me, each in their own way.

From the moment a daughter enters the world, when all we can focus on is her steady breathing and sweet, sleepy sighs, to first steps, losing the first tooth, a first preteen argument, getting a driver’s license, to graduation and beyond—it’s all worth relishing and celebrating. Through both my relationships with my own mother and my daughter, I have cried, celebrated, felt pride, and found that we mutually grow and learn from each other. 

How to Give a Gift Mom Deserves

Because of how significant and deep this connection is, Mother’s Day typically has a lot of overwhelming pressure attached to it. How do we, in one day, show and celebrate this woman for all she has given us? The answer is simple: we cannot convey the gratitude moms deserve in one day.

This year, I am setting an intention to integrate the effort and celebration into more frequent recognition of all my mom has done for me. I plan to carry out this intention with more casual phone calls, check-ins, shopping and tea trips, random thoughtful gifts, and acts of kindness throughout the year.

However, I am still going to celebrate Mother’s Day which brings us to that common dilemma: what do we give the most giving women in our lives? While I can’t tell you the perfect gift for your mother, I have some tips to help guide your search:

• Consider her love language

  • I had a friend once tell me that her mom’s love language was words of affirmation and acts of service, so for Mother’s day she reached out to family members and her mother’s friends and asked them all to write letters about how her mom had inspired or supported them during their relationships. She took the letters and made a scrapbook of them for her mom to look through and read.

  • If your mom likes to receive gifts, think of how you can add meaning to a traditional gift—can you get a necklace engraved, consider her birthstone, get a custom frame for a family photo, or even book a session for family photos to get taken?

  • Touch can be a difficult love language to satisfy with a gift, but weary moms are almost always eager for a professional massage. Perhaps a gift that involves spending time together for a spa day or getting manicures and pedicures together is a good way to give a meaningful gift that has instant value, but shows thoughtfulness in the process. 

  • Quality time can be implemented in many gifts: taking your mom to brunch, a shopping day, gardening together, playing games, and more. Whatever your mom enjoys doing, doing it together will be even more joyful. 

• What does she always give but never get?

• What is the most special memory you share?

  • Can you revisit a place, recreate an experience, or give her a special copy of a significant book or album?

A Joyful, Mindful, Balanced Mother’s Day

One of the most heartwarming reviews I have seen from a few people is that they use the JMB Living Journal with their mother/daughter. They use each other as accountability partners to journal daily, but it also encourages daily communication as they call each other at the end of each day or week to discuss what they put in the journal. I love the idea of having an archive of your week to review with your mom or daughter, but also that the conversation is focused on beauty and joy because the journal is centered around noticing more beauty and joy daily.

If you’re still stumped on a Mother’s Day gift, I wanted to provide people with a thoughtful gift option that encompasses many of the love languages at once, so I included the JMB Living Journal in a bundled offering with a candle and a mala bracelet. This has the tangible gift like a candle and something beautiful and meaningful like a mala bracelet, but also with something to foster more communication and an addition to your connection as you use the JMB Living Journal together. If this sounds like a good gift for your mother, don’t delay in ordering it as I only have a limited quantity of these available. 

Want to know what I intend to give my mother this year?

My mother is already using the journal, so she won’t be getting this bundle. We will be taking a trip together - out to see my daughter Justyne for a week in Montana! If I had to guess, my mother’s love language would be quality time, so this will be perfect. And while we are up there, together we will be watching our grandson/great-grandson while Justyne is at work.

Motherhood is for Everyone

Mother’s Day is a well-deserved day, but I am also sending love and thoughts to those who have lost their mothers, children, miscarried, or are estranged. Motherhood and family do not require a bloodline. I am grateful for all of the women throughout my life who have been role models, supported me, loved me and helped me grow like one of their own. Support and love come in many forms, and Mother’s Day is a wonderful day to recognize and thank all of those in your life who have shared such a connection with you.