This time of year is always a special one. It has lots of meaning for different reasons. First and foremost it means I am a mom to three amaaazing kids. While life isn’t always bliss, I thank my lucky stars to have such normal kids. They are talented and funny and I love sitting around the front room just chatting with them. And for the first time in three years, we are all together again.

Mother’s Day also has some sadness for me. About seven years ago (in July) my mom passed away from a series of strokes at–what I consider to be–a young age of 65. This woman you thought would have lived to 102 at the rate she kept going and taking care of the family farm. You just never know. I’m sure there are many of you that lost your mother even earlier than that. Not fun. Not fun at all.

With all the reflection I’ve had going on,
I’ve had this expression going in my head for the past few days:
it’s what moms are for

They are there to . . .
teach you how to cook
to play games
put a bandaid on
read a book
buy you clothes
play hide & seek with you and your friends
listen
sing along loudly to music in the car
feed you popsicles when you have a sore throat
drive you to the mall with your friends
eat with you at your favorite restaurant
teach her grandkids to work on the farm
(or drive on the farm)
care for you
love you
always be there . . . for as long as possible
. . . .

The list could go on and on. I think the few things that my mom “was there for” and instilled in me is a love of nature, a love of a weekend trip or to just ‘go for a drive’, a love of photography, a love of family, how to be kind and honest . . . just to name a few.

I know we all are in different stages in our lives. Some may not have mothers or be a mother. You may have mother figures in your life. Whatever the case may be, today is a time for reflection on womanhood in general.

I challenge you to jot down some notes on motherhood, 
womanhood, or whatever your situation may be.
What have you learned and hope to learn from the women or children in your life?
What does being a mother or woman mean to you?
And if you need a little journaling prompt? How ’bout this  freebie.

You can download this shape for free HERE.
(Comes in SVG/STUDIO/DXF/AIv8/PNG)
It’s also the usual “all one piece” with a “moms” accent.

I thought perhaps I’d share a couple pages that I made a few years ago (a little dated ;)) about my mom after she passed away (I’m sure I’ve shared these before). This first page happened to be about the weekend of her funeral. Everywhere we went as we drove through town, there was some sign that reminded me of her and I had to take pictures and write about each place.

(a photo template would have been nice for this one! i did it the really HARD way!)

This is something you could do now with your mom, with your kids, even your husband or girlfriends. It’s a fun way to remember places–which do change over time. They go away, signs change, etc. It’s fun to capture what you can in the moment.

On another trip to the farm, the kids and I were reminiscing about things that reminded us of “grandma,” which spurred this page.

Again, another great idea for remembering all the little pieces about a person. It was fun hearing the kids’ take on what “grandma” meant too.

So this is the perfect weekend to just jot down your feelings. You can always do a page with it later, but write it down now.

You are all just amazing women! I’ve made some pretty great friends here
on my blog and I very much appreciate your friendship and support.
And I want to wish you all a . . .
xo
k