🌷 Mother’s Day and the Many Forms of Missing

Geri Watson
Jan 9
3 min read

Mother’s Day arrives each year wrapped in flowers, brunch menus, and pastel cards — a celebration of love, nurture, and connection. But for many, this day is not simple. It is layered. Tender. Heavy. A reminder of what was, what wasn’t, or what can never be again.

Mother’s Day is not just a holiday.

It is a landscape of longing.

And the missing takes many forms.

🌙 For Those Missing a Mother

There is a particular ache in missing the person who once held your whole world. Whether your mother died recently or decades ago, the absence can feel sharper in May.

You may feel:

A longing for her voice
A memory that returns without warning
A grief that feels fresh again
A desire to be mothered, even now

Missing a mother is not something you “grow out of.” It is something you learn to live with — a quiet, lifelong tenderness.

🕊️ For Those Missing a Child

Mother’s Day can be excruciating for mothers whose children are no longer here. The world celebrates motherhood, while your arms remember the weight they once held.

Your grief is not invisible. Your motherhood is not erased. Your love is not diminished.

You are a mother — always.

🌿 For Those Who Longed to Be Mothers

There is a grief that lives in the space between hope and heartbreak — the grief of infertility, miscarriage, failed adoption, or dreams that never came to be.

Mother’s Day can feel like a spotlight on what your heart still aches for.

Your longing is real.

Your grief is real.

Your story matters.

🌫️ For Those With Complicated Mother Relationships

Not all mother‑child relationships are soft. Some are fractured. Some are painful. Some are marked by absence, estrangement, or unmet needs.

If Mother’s Day brings confusion, resentment, or emotional exhaustion, your experience is valid. Grief can come from what you lost — and from what you never had.

💗 For Those Who Mother in Nontraditional Ways

Mothering is not limited to biology. It is a way of loving, tending, nurturing, and showing up.

You may mother through:

Mentorship
Friendship
Caregiving
Community
Creativity
Ritual

Your mothering matters.

Your love matters.

Your presence is felt.

🌸 For Those Missing the Mother They Once Were

Life changes us.

Loss changes us.

Motherhood changes us.

Some grieve the version of themselves who once had more energy, more certainty, more time, more joy. Some grieve the mother they hoped to be.

This grief is tender, too.

🕯️ A Gentle Ritual for Mother’s Day

If this day feels heavy, here is a soft ritual to hold you:

1. Light a candle for the form of missing you carry.

Let the flame witness what words cannot.

2. Place one object beside it.

A photo, a flower, a stone, a piece of fabric — something that represents your story.

3. Speak one sentence aloud.

It might be:

“I miss you.”
“I love you.”
“I wish things had been different.”
“I’m still learning how to carry this.”
“I honor the mother I am.”

4. Close with a gesture of care.

Wrap yourself in a blanket. Drink something warm. Step outside and breathe. Let your body feel held.

🌤️ There Is No Right Way to Feel Today

Mother’s Day can be beautiful.

It can be painful.

It can be both.

You don’t have to celebrate. You don’t have to ignore it. You don’t have to pretend.

You only have to honor your truth — whatever shape it takes this year.

🕯️ You Don’t Have to Navigate This Day Alone

At Orion’s Legacy Editing, I believe in honoring the many forms of missing — the visible and the invisible, the spoken and the unspoken.

Whether you’re writing your story, creating ritual, or simply trying to find language for what this day stirs in you, I’m here to walk with you.

Your grief matters.