Honouring Mothers, Holding Ourselves in Coquitlam and Burnaby on Mother's Day

Mother’s Day can be a beautiful celebration of love, care, sacrifice, and connection. For many, it is a day filled with gratitude for the mothers and caregivers who showed up with warmth, support, and devotion. Mothers deserve to be recognized for the countless ways they carry emotional, physical, and mental responsibilities every day.

But for some of us, Mother’s Day can also bring complicated emotions.

Maybe our relationships with our mothers have become distant or estranged. Maybe there are unresolved hurts, grief, disappointments, or words that were never spoken. Some of us are missing our mothers. Some are grieving the kind of mothering we wished we had received. Others may be navigating difficult relationships while trying to hold love and pain at the same time.

Mothers are human beings before they are mothers.

Some amazing.
Some very human.
Some very complex.
Some wounded and wounding.
​Some mothers are struggling to find their way back to their children through battles with addiction, mental health challenges, trauma, or other life difficulties.

​Like it or not, our parents shaped parts of who we are today. They influence how we see ourselves, how we relate to others, how we cope with emotions, and how we understand love and safety. This does not mean we are destined to repeat painful patterns, but it does mean our experiences matter.

Mother’s Day does not have to look the same for everyone.

For some, celebration feels natural.
For others, simply getting through the day may take emotional energy.

Wherever you find yourself this Mother’s Day, try to meet yourself with compassion instead of judgment. Your feelings do not have to compete with anyone else’s experience to be valid.

Practice self-care in whatever way feels supportive to you:

• Rest without guilt
• Spend time with safe people
• Create healthy boundaries
• Allow yourself to grieve
• Reflect on what nurturing means to you
• Speak to yourself with kindness

​Sometimes healing begins not with forcing ourselves to feel differently, but by allowing ourselves to honestly acknowledge what is already there.

​This Mother’s Day, may we celebrate the mothers who nurtured us well, hold space for the relationships that are complicated, and remember to care for ourselves with the same compassion we so freely offer others.

If this Mother’s Day feels heavy, complicated, or emotionally overwhelming, you do not have to carry it alone. Reaching out for support can be a meaningful step toward healing, understanding, and self-compassion.

​Whether you are navigating family wounds, grief, estrangement, or simply trying to make sense of difficult emotions, counselling can provide a safe space to process your experiences without judgment.

This Mother’s Day, give yourself permission to care for your own emotional well-being too.
Book a free 15 minute consultation in Coquitlam to start your therapy journey.