10/05/2026
As I was unwinding from the day's work on Saturday, I noticed nobody seemed to be taking any initiative for Mother’s day. Where did my little kids go who were always excited for Mother’s day? Mother’s day breakfast on bed, the gifts bought from school stall and hand made card was like a ritual for mother’s day. I could feel the insecurities crawling inside me which was saying – Are they going away from me? Do they love me less? Am I doing something wrong as a parent? The feeling just let my heart sink.
I pulled myself back thinking they are high school kids now. For them friends’s birthday are more important than Mother’s day. It’s a growing phase where they are trying to find joy and existence in their friend's circle. It's natural and normal. Being a therapist, how can I forget it? There is nothing to do with me…it their age.
I heard myself saying – “ So girls, what are you both planning to do for Mother’s day tomorrow?”
“What do you want? “ I heard a soft voice that wants to keep her mother happy but still don’t want to go out of her comfort zone. It made me smile when I saw the struggle they are going through.
“May be plan it with Daddy as you always used to do”. They nodded their heads.
I did hear them planning Mother's day dinner with their dad and it brought some smile on my face. The morning started with soft hugs from my kids. “I just want your hug and kisses, nothing much. Just remember your mumma always loves you.”
All the teens mothers, if you are going through a phase which I am going through, hang-in there. It’s not easy to experience the switch where you were the world for your children and now you feel your children are drifting away. They will come back to us one day; like how we did 😊. Here I am trying to make my mother feel special across the continent today.
Here is something that I learned through my experience:
• Try to keep your expectations low from your teenagers.
• Communicate and guide them.
• Don’t take any of these experiences personally. This is the phase where your adolescents are naturally self-absorbed and focused on gaining independence. This behaviour rarely means they do not love or appreciate you; rather, it is a developmental stage where they struggle to show gratitude.
Happy Mother’s day!
Love,
Archana Mishra
