Celebrating Mothers Day - Give A Girl A Year Of School

“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” ―Maya Angelou

I was about 8 years old, when my two brothers and I forgot Mothers Day. I guess my Dad dropped the ball on that too as he forgot to remind us. The image seared into my memory of this unfortunate incident was on that fateful day when the 5 of us were in church. My mother’s usually serene and loving expression that day was replaced with an unrecognizable mix of deep hurt and anger. My siblings and I hung our heads in shame at upsetting her so much, and I could tell my father was mortified at his obvious oversight.

Ironically though, I remember thinking to my 8-year old self “What’s the big deal? We just forgot about Mothers Day.”

Fast forward to today where I’m a single mother. My appreciation for my own mother, and for ALL mothers everywhere - has magnified a million percent.

In my opinion Mothers day should be recognized internationally as a holiday!

I celebrate this day with my child as a fun day. This year we’re going to do something different. I’ve given her ample warning that the day is coming up and I told her that what I would really like from her is a home made card with a poem inside. Then we’re volunteering at a local horse show to be jump judges, we’ll go get dinner somewhere. We’ll FaceTime with my own Mother (I will remember to order her flowers for delivery in NZ) and then the two of us will sit down and I’m going to show her an amazing organization I stumbled on called Rescue.org that offer all kinds of amazing, life-giving gifts to people in need (and importantly over 80% of every dollar you donate actually goes to helping). You can buy 1 year of schooling for a girl (including books and tuition) for $58. Or a Baby kit to help support a Mother and Newborn for $63 https://gifts.rescue.org

Together my daughter and I are going to choose which gifts we’re going to give to honor all Mothers (and future Mothers). This will give us a great opportunity to talk about those less fortunate than ourselves and we’ll both feel amazing at being able to help others in some small way.

That’s an important lesson for an 8 year old to learn!

This Mothers Day, give yourself the gift of recognizing the incredible work you do. Consider celebrating your special day by making a donation or helping someone else less fortunate. You will be AMAZED at how incredible it makes you feel, and you’re providing your kids with an important learning opportunity too!