Mother's Day: Honoring Every Mother's Journey

Mother's Day arrives with its familiar rhythm—flowers delivered to doorsteps, breakfast trays, handmade cards, and embraces that linger a little longer than usual. It's a day when "Mom" seems to shimmer with extra meaning, carried on waves of gratitude across dining tables and phone lines. But beneath the surface of this celebration runs a deeper current—one that touches us all differently.

I've been thinking about you. Yes, you!

Whether you're rubbing your growing belly and imagining next year's celebration, or you're still finding your footing as a first-time mother with your newborn's head nestled against your shoulder...or perhaps you're like me—a mother who aches with some emptiness. This message is for all of us.

The Invisible Work of Motherhood

Motherhood happens in the moments not always seen. It's the 3 am feedings when the world is silent except for the soft sounds of your baby. It's in the worried phone calls to pediatricians and the quiet research you do after everyone's asleep. It's in the mental load of remembering sizes, preferences, schedules, and emotions that aren't your own.

Every day, you show up. Every day, you pour out love in ways that often goes unnoticed. Today, the world is simply catching up to what you've always deserved: recognition, gratitude, and the space to be seen fully.

For some, this day can arrive with complicated feelings; joy and pain, love and longing. Those that are missing their own mothers, the day can echo with absence. For those who've experienced pregnancy loss, infertility struggles, or the unimaginable pain of child loss such as myself. Mother's Day can feel like navigating a world wind of emotions.

Your motherhood is not defined by what others can see. The love you carry makes you a mother. The invisible grief you bear is evidence of that love.

Creating Space for Every Mother's Story

My work as a doula is sacred, I've been grateful to witness the exact moment when a woman crosses the threshold into motherhood. The overwhelming joy in a new mother’s eyes when she hears that first cry, feels that first touch! The moment when “I’m pregnant” becomes “I’m a mother.”

What I've learned is that this transformation doesn't depend on outcomes. It happens in the heart first—often during those early weeks of pregnancy when you begin making room in your life, your body, and your future for this little being. Once that space is created, it remains. Maybe not what you envisioned, but that motherly love is always there.

So how do we honor motherhood in all its forms? How do we celebrate joy without minimizing grief? How do we acknowledge absence while embracing presence?

We start by listening. By making space for stories different from our own. By recognizing that motherhood is not a single experience but a spectrum of love, loss, hope, and resilience. If you're celebrating today surrounded by noise and laughter—embrace it fully. These moments are precious.

If you're spending today in quiet reflection—honor that, too!

To every mother, today I want you to know:

Your journey matters. The parts filled with joy and the chapters marked by pain.

Your motherhood is valid—whether your children are with you or not, whether they came to you through birth, adoption, fostering, or marriage. You are seen, even when your motherhood isn't visible to others. You are not alone, you are loved.

May you find moments of peace today. May you give yourself permission to feel whatever arises. May you be gentle with yourself. And may you know that wherever you are on this journey, you carry with you the most profound love there is—a mother's love—which changes everything it touches, including yourself.

Happy Mother's Day to all of us.

With love and understanding,

Antwanette