Queen Mom

"Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." – Barbara Kingsolver

Parents have gone through the wringer over the past year and a half. Mom duties were already stacked, but the surprise load of extras made moms go into a marathon mindset. Juggling homeschool, cooking, chores, (trying to) work from home, possibly putting their dreams on hold, and almost no pauses is all the more reason for a standing ovation to mothers.

This Mother's Day is an extraordinary celebration for mothers and the future of mothers. This might be the first year without a mom for some people. Last year, many of us lost loved ones, including mothers, grandmothers, aunts, or mother figures. Some of us grew closer to our mothers in 2020. And, unless we lived with our moms, we've been waiting to hug them safely.Some moms have gone through pandemic hair loss, where the body goes into shock from the stress, in turn, signaling the body's "growth phase" to switch to "shed phase." The medical term is called telogen effluvium. Then, there's chronic insomnia and sleep deprivation while still caring for another human.

Let's not get into diet and exercise. While moms scarfed down leftovers and tried to finish chores and deadlines before their morning Zoom meeting, there was little time for any care.Look, moms are T-I-R-E-D. If the rest of the world had no idea what motherhood looked like before, they had a crystal clear glimpse. It got real for everybody. 

Hopefully, moms get a whole day to do whatever they want, but that probably won't happen if the kids are still young. Moving forward, how can moms get mini-breaks, at the very least, and get back on track? Here are a few tips.

• Take baby steps—no need to overwhelm.
• Drink lemon with water every morning.
• Take biotin for hair, skin, and nails. 
• Have a bath with her favorite essential oil.
• Face mask for 15 minutes.
• Homemade hand scrub or mask at DIY Beauty.
• Headspace is a fantastic app with calming techniques and meditation.
• Listen to relaxing tunes.
• Watch a stand-up comedy show, a funny or an uplifting movie.
• Get back on a skin care regimen: Face wash, Rescue serum, moisturizer.

Great gift ideas to help moms are: 

• Meal prep subscriptions. Moms usually think of themselves last, skipping meals, filling up on unhealthy carbs, desperate for energy. They are HUNGRY. 
• Apple, Spotify, or Amazon Music subscription.
• Cleaning service because cleaning is hard.
• Babysit for your mom relative, or friend.
• Massage. Manicure. Pedicure.
• Gift card to her favorite place. (Peet's Coffee, Chipotle, Nékter Juice, etc.)
• Professional home organizer, not an app, an actual human.
• Breathing (silent) whistle for anxiety by Komuso.

Being clean and organized helps reduce stress. Having a couple of hours of alone time can recharge anyone, especially mommies. Almost anything that relieves a mom of everyday duties makes life lighter for her. We hope that you have the happiest Mother's Day and soak in all the love.

"To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow." – Maya Angelou