What a strange thought!
How can a wonderful day which honors mom be stressy?
​Why would feelings of guilt intrude on such happiness?
 
Because being a mother can bring a lot of stress with it. And being a daughter or a son, we do not always fully appreciate the pressures mom experiences. For one thing, mom usually does most of the jobs around the house. That is true even if she has a full-time job like many of you moms have.
 
Therefore, it is easy to feel guilty for not looking after the children enough, not spending enough time with the family, not having the home perfectly organized and clean.
 
Or mom experiences stress about the children in their teens becoming independent, wanting to be free, and pushing all kinds of limits to the nth degree. Or the children being far away and worrying about their well-being.
 
My own mom, I am certain, resides in Heaven since the year 2000. I can only fully appreciate her skill, courage, perseverance and love since I began my work with stress 5 years later. Mom was born in the middle of World War I. She lived through the 1920s which were much worse in Germany than e.g. the Great Depression in the USA, and then the Nazi era and World War II. She lost her 2nd son, my little brother, at the end of the war. She raised me, then an only child, as a single working mother. She used her wits to get jobs as her family thought the girl didn’t need to go to college.
 
Now I hope your mom had it a bit easier and grew up in peace. Still it is never easy to carry and raise children, even if they bring you lots of joy. If you are a mother you know.
 
So this Mother’s Day make it easy and sweet for mom! If you are mom, make sure to tell your family clearly what you want and what you would appreciate. Make sure there is good communication. And there can be tension and misunderstanding between mothers and the kids. That is more common than we think and often quite natural. Therefore, exercise kindness and forgiveness for this special day and all the time to come. Your life and mom’s will be easier and happier for it.
 
Plan this important day well and it can be a joyful stress free experience for mom and family. And practice gratitude which is a wonderful experience for those who give it and those receiving it.
 
Wishing you and yours a wonderful and stress free Mother’s Day.
 
Your, being so very grateful for his mother, stress analyst,

Fred George Sauer