Mother’s day 2020 is fast approaching and with isolation and social distancing still happening in Melbourne I must say I do have some mixed feelings about it. While I absolutely love spending time with my sweet family, there has been a lot of that going on lately...
Right now my perfect Mother’s Day gift would be to have a day in real isolation from the family (preferably at a spa) with some wine, a great meal, and an uninterrupted, very long nap!
But then the emotions start going…
I’m hyper aware that so many people have lost Mother’s, Grandmothers and loved ones due to this pandemic. I think about all the Mums who will be alone this Mother’s Day. I think of my own Mum and Mum in Law back in South Africa and wonder when, realistically, we will be able to see each other again. These are uncertain times for sure!
Silver lining moments
It’s heartening to see the good that is coming out of it too. Families and friends are connecting again, even those not living under the same roof – zoom calls are no longer just for webinars and work meetings they are for happy hour and catch-ups! With no valid excuse to get out of these (now that we’re all stuck at home) we have no option but to sit and chat. And it’s actually been fun!
We are also witnessing real life on our televisions - no more perfectly groomed and lit television hosts and reporters but rather now we get glimpses into people’s homes and their authentic selves through their selfie camera. It’s refreshing!
Personally for me I have found myself getting more involved in my Daughter’s world. Going back to full time parenting means I have had to do all the things that I usually left up to her Childcare to take care of. We have become craft masters - I’m finally doing some of the crafty things I’ve pinned on Pinterest over the last four years! And in between I’ve even managed to make a couple of things for myself.
I’ve also been invited to engage in her very imaginary play which is both so sweet and utterly exhausting. She has very specific ideas about how the game should play out and I’m given strict lines to say (if she could write, I’m pretty sure I would be given a script). Should I deviate from this I tend to get into a fair amount of trouble! The exhausting part comes around the hundredth time I’ve had to perform the same picnic in the lounge, with a very select (yet random-looking) group of stuffed animals (who I have to do the speaking for three them by the way), without once being allowed to look at my phone or deviate from the script in any way… That’s about the time the TV comes on and I lie down.
We’ve also gotten to know more of our neighbours during our daily exercising outside (and by that I mean the kids exercise and the parents keep a look out for the odd car passing by while catching up over a home-brewed coffee at a responsible 1.5m apart).
But it certainly hasn’t been all chalk rainbows on the sidewalk and teddy bears in the windows…
we have had our bad days for sure! 24/7 parenting without the village is hard. Patience is thin right now and I know we are all feeling it. For Mums and Dads who are juggling full time jobs, distance learning and parenting – you guys are Rock Stars!
Back to Mother’s Day for 2020…
Usually Childcare takes care of teaching about Mother’s Day and arranging a little crafted gift for the kids to give their Mums. Our wonderful Childcare is still doing this, but remotely, which means I’m teaching my daughter about Mother’s Day. Initially I thought this would be weird, kind of like tooting my own horn. But the more I thought about it the more I thought why not? Mother’s Day doesn’t have to be about sitting back and hoping everyone remembers and does something special for you. It’s a time when you, as a Mum, should give yourself and massive pat on the back! You deserve to be appreciated, acknowledged and praised for what you do! I don’t see the harm of pointing out to your children (albeit in a positive and loving way) some of the very important things you do and just how valued we should be!
So this week we’re focusing on Mums – in our play and in our crafts. We’ll be talking about all kinds of Mums, not only the human ones. I'll be designing the gift she'll help craft for me (and I'll help her make it). I’m also ordering my own Mother’s day present (which are gorgeous photographic prints from a recent photo shoot we did). And for Mother’s Day lunch we’ll be supporting local restaurants by ordering takeout (and by lunch, I’m thinking for brunch and dinner)
A Beautiful Heart Shaped Collage - Free Template
I also made a special heart-shaped photo collage to put on my dressing table. This was prompted after an “essential trip” to Spotlight, for crafting supplies, found me purchasing some of their beautiful wooden frames while they were on sale!
I’ve saved the design so you can use it too. It’s perfect to create something for you, your Mum or any special person in your life. You just need to upload your photos and drag them onto each frame. It’s sized for a 30x30cm print, so I don’t recommend printing it bigger than that. Also, because each image in the collage is quite small, the detail won’t be great (as images get smaller they loose definition). But what I love about it is the heart shape and the memory it evokes – so choose images that will spark beautiful memories. I chose images from our recent trip to South Africa that ended somewhat abruptly thanks to the COVID19 Pandemic. I also did a small 15x15cm frame of my family.
That’s the joy of having digital photos - you can print them as beautiful artworks to last a lifetime or just to last a season (and change things up every now and then without spending a fortune)!
Happy Mother’s Day Mama. Now go and spoil yourself, however that may be!
xoxo
p.s. - CANVA is the app I used to design the collage. Once you've done your your heart-shaped collage I highly recommend exploring the app and creating some of your own designs or trying out their own amazing templates. Have fun and let me know if you design anything!
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