Motherhood may be natural yet it isn’t easy. Becoming a mother doesn’t come with a guidebook. And too often mothers try to hold themselves to an ideal that isn’t practical or achievable.

Being a mother is such an important role. It is one to be honored and humbled by. It is one where your thoughts, words and actions have a powerful effect on the development of a fledgling.

It requires commitment and sacrifice, empathy and compassion. It requires patience and resourcefulness. It may even require learning how to put another’s needs first… at least for a while… without permanently losing sight of your own needs. And it is one of the ways that we truly learn unconditional love.

Dear mothers, please know that you are perfect in your imperfections. Mistakes will be made. You are human. It comes with the territory. It is how you handle the situations that will ultimately make all the difference.

I’d like to broaden the celebration of Mother’s Day to include everyone filling the role of mother: birth mothers, adoptive mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, aunts, sisters, friends, neighbors, and mothers of non-human “children” (cats, dogs, birds, horses, fish, plants, etc.).

Mother’s everywhere deserve a round of applause. Not for being a perfect mother, but for showing up and doing the best that you can day in and day out. That takes commitment. That takes love.

That takes strength.

So I’d like to take a moment to thank you for your contribution.

Heartfelt gratitude to you this Mother’s Day, and every day for all you do and for being you.

Pause. Take a nice deep breath and drink in the love and appreciation that is there for you. Really receive it.

Withhold any judgment you may have over whether or not you did a good job, or messed up in some way, or made a mistake. Trust that you did the best that you could at the time and that no one is flawless or perfect.

You are fine. It’s OK. Could you have done a better job? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe the mistakes that you made were the exact thing that was needed for the other person to learn and grow as an individual.

Instead of beating yourself up over whatever you think you did or didn’t do, this Mother’s Day I invite you to sit and acknowledge everything you did do well for a change. I bet if you are honest with yourself you will discover you did a heck of a lot more good than you realized.

Acknowledging your awesomeness:

If you have a journal, open it up to a clean page for this exercise. If you don’t have a journal, find a pad, notebook or a few sheets of blank paper to write on. Come back here when you are ready.

OK? Great…

Get comfortable, perhaps put some relaxing music on, you can even light a candle or some incense to help you relax and set the mood.

On the top of the page write: Today I honor me and acknowledge my accomplishments

Then take a couple of deep breaths and close your eyes and ask your higher self or your wise mind, to help you remember the things you have accomplished as a mom, including all the times you showed up when you felt sick or just didn’t feel like doing it. Be open to remembering the good you have done rather focusing on where you think you fell short.

Now open your eyes and start writing down everything that comes to mind. Don’t judge or censor any thoughts about this or the things you remember. Don’t make any snarky comments about anything you write down. Just let it flow.

When you think you’ve captured as much as you can, close your eyes and ask again to remember more good that you’ve done, more of the ways you’ve helped others whether they were aware of it or not. Open your eyes and write some more.

Repeat this process until you feel complete. There will probably be more things you’ve forgotten, and that’s ok. What you’ve jotted down is fine and perfect for this exercise.

OK. Now sit with your lists of accomplishments and look at them. You might want to read them out loud or silently to yourself. After you review your list, gather the papers and hold them to your heart. Allow yourself to really accept and receive all the good you’ve done.

[Tweet “Own your accomplishments. Acknowledge yourself as a woman, a person and a mother.”]

And now pick up your pen and write at the end of your list, I __ (your name) __, truly love, honor and appreciate you for all that you are, all that you do and for being you. And say it out loud 3 times with your hand on your heart.

“I love, honor and appreciate you for all that you are, all that you do and for being you.”

Know you are loved. Know that you are appreciated.

Good job… gold stars for you!