A Bittersweet Moment

A Bittersweet Moment

by Shannon M. Mason, Project Coordinator

Another Mother’s Day has come and gone and yet the day holds emptiness for mothers across the globes that are not able to look upon the face of their children. It is with empty hands and broken hearts that they face a world that places a certain stigma upon them. They do not receive phone calls from friends or cards from loved ones wishing them a Happy Mother’s Day. But alas, they are mothers.

They feel the same love and devotion for their children that are no longer on this earth, as all mothers do. The bereaved mother may appear to be fine with the world moving on around them but they are good at hiding their pain. As they greet other mother’s they may smile and give them best wishes but it is the lack of response the other mother brings that breaks their heart even more.

Mother’s Day was initially founded by Anna Jarvis to honor her mother who had experienced the death of seven (7) of her children. Over the years the day has become commercialized and although all mothers deserve to be recognized, it is the bereaved mothers that are somehow forgotten. The very reasoning behind the creation of Mother’s Day has been lost.

So as this holiday comes to an end it is a bittersweet moment. A moment that I hold dear in my heart. You see, for just like the mother of Anna Jarvis, I too have experienced the death of seven (7) of my children. As hard as Mother’s Day is without my sweet angels it is bittersweet because I was able to hold them in my arms for a moment… but they will be in my heart for a lifetime.