Mother’s Day is the holiday that celebrates being a mom, putting our kids first, and hopefully includes some appreciation, thankfulness or a well deserved day of rest. For a single mom it can be a day of mixed emotions. Being a mom is the greatest job and while there are so many joyful experiences and times, there are days that it can be exhausting and feel thankless. If you are a mom of young children, you realize that there will not be breakfast in bed, or extra sleep time, no surprise reservations for Mother’s Day Brunch.
As a single mom of an 8-year-old, I have come to realize that maybe there won’t be a surprise day set up for me, but I can plan an outing that will be fun for us to do together. I call it the experience date, and whether it is a park date, a movie date, or hitting an amusement park, we will have a day of fun. Mother’s Day is a celebration, and creating memories no matter the budget is the best way to commemorate the day.
Some Easy Ideas To Help A Single Mom Friend:
- Reach out on Mother’s Day, whether it’s a text, a call, or a facebook post and just let her know she is doing a good job and you see her. Sometimes just a nod from another mom can mean the world and being seen is something everyone can use from time to time.
- If she has younger kids, offer having the kids over for a play date a few days before and set up a homemade craft card station. Her kids can make her a card and your kids can make a card for someone in your family to give. The kids will be so excited to have a surprise for their mom. I did this once a few years ago for a friend of mine and not only were her girls happy, she called me on Mother’s Day to thank me for thinking of her. It made me happy to give a little joy.
- My family takes my son out the weekend before a holiday, to pick out a small gift that can be from him and he is so proud when I open the card and gift that he selected and is just as excited as I am. Depending on the age, some kids have an allowance they just need help getting to a place to buy the gift, and helping your friend’s kids is another invaluable way to help.
“It takes a village” is a saying that I heard over and over and in the past about raising kids and I overlooked it, however, being a single mom there are times where you could use a village or maybe just one person to extend the hand. Enjoy the day and don’t let the typical ideas of how to spend the day get in your head, have fun with your kids, make memories and if you can help a fellow mom not have holiday blues, you lifted her up when she may have been dreading it.
If you are a single mom, I see you and I know that you are trying your best, you want the best for your kid and you are doing everything you can to make it a reality. I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day and want you to know that you are not alone!
