How I'm Honoring My Mom this Mother's Day
As you may already know, I lost my mom to cancer very suddenly a little over a year ago—just 5 days before giving birth to our son Henry. That technically makes this my second Mother’s Day without her, though I feel like I was still in a bit of shock last year to know what it may normally feel like.
For the last five years, Mother’s Day has consistently been Naomi Paper Co.’s best-selling season outside of Christmas.
I first started making Mother’s Day cards by printing a handful of extra copies of the one I had designed for my own mom. I brought the extra copies of that Mother’s Day card to a market and they sold so quickly!
I think the combination of love for my own mom, love for drawing florals, and my generally feminine lettering style has always made Mother’s Day the easiest holiday to design for. Each year since then I have always designed at least one Mother’s Day card specifically for my own mom, and as I like to say, you all just get the extras.
And so, one of the first thoughts that came into my mind after losing my mom was, What does this mean for Mother’s Day at Naomi Paper Co.? I wondered if I was just going to cry each time I packed a Mother’s Day order, if I’d ever be able to make another Mother’s Day card again, or if I would only make grief cards from now on.
A year later, I admit that some of these things have been hard, but God has been good in the midst of my grief, and I think has helped me to steward it well.
“If anything, I want to celebrate
moms even more now.”
While I have created a new sympathy card since then, it hasn’t stopped me from being able to still design for this season. If anything, I want to celebrate moms even more now.
As I pack Mother’s Day orders, it makes my heart happy to see so many Blessed to Have a Mom Like You or Woman Who Fears the Lord cards go out the door. It makes me chuckle as I see copies of our Favorite Child card go out as I remember my mom’s sense of humor. Every card that goes out means someone out there is honoring their mom here & now, and not waiting until they’re gone to appreciate them the way they deserve.
That being said, here are a few things I am doing this Mother’s Day season, or committing to do each year, in order to honor my mom and try not to let grief overwhelm me:
I’m continuing to design at least one Mother’s Day card for her each year.
This year, our World’s Most Supportive Mom card is the one I made for her. Not only do all moms have this propensity to love us through thick & thin, my mom was one of those people that redefined the word “supportive” for me.
I used to think being supportive just meant telling someone, “I believe in you! You can do it!” But she showed me that being supportive means being on the front lines (at every soccer game, craft show, moving day, you name it!), cheering you on, loving you when you fail, offering to help, showing genuine interest, and giving the hard, needed feedback along the way.
Last year, I had already made the Woman Who Fears the Lord card for her before we even knew she was sick. I didn’t get to actually give it to her, but I got to show it to her in one of our last conversations while she was on hospice care.
Her faith was an example to me all my life, but it shined all the more in her final days. I see the Lord’s hand so much now in choosing that verse for her Mother’s Day card that year. It’s likely the design I’ll always cherish most.
2. planting lilacs in her memory
I had chosen the lilac colored background of that card since it was her favorite color, and reminded me of her favorite flowers: lilacs. My mom grew up with them in her childhood backyard, and I have many fond memories of going out to that corner of the yard at my grandparents’ house, trimming some to bring inside, and letting the fragrance fill the whole house.
When my grandparents passed away, my mom went last minute before the house was about to be sold and uprooted some to plant in her own yard. I thought it was silly at the time, “just buy new ones, it’s the same!” I remember telling her.
Well now, of course, I wish I had those same lilacs. But rather than wallow in that regret, this past weekend we planted a couple of new lilac bushes in our front yard in her memory. I’m letting these store-bought lilacs humble me and remind me that I don’t always know best. The plants are SMALL now, but already budding, and I’m excited to watch new life grow each year out of this season of grief.
3. Spending time with family
While normally I may have wanted the day to myself on Mother’s Day, I know that at least for now being alone won’t be good for me that day. Spending time with family also honors my mom’s legacy of being the glue that helped keep our family regularly meeting.
4. Spending time in God’s Word
All of these things, for me, come with a daily drawing near to the Lord through His Word & in prayer. This hope in Christ is what assures me that the best is yet to come, and that each day I am actually moving closer to her rather than farther away. This truth is one of the things that help us as Christians to “not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13
“...we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
I hope these words have encouraged you in some way if you’re enduring grief yourself, and perhaps offered you some inspiration for how to spend certain milestone dates.
Otherwise I hope this has at least given you some insight into the grieving process for some, and the story behind some of our products as you shop this Mother’s Day season.
I’d love to hear in the comments how you honor/celebrate your loved ones during milestones like this!