Make Yourself a Valentine & Celebrate, Mom!

Valentine’s Day is almost here, moms! It can be a day of thoughtful cards, a dozen long-stemmed red roses, delicious chocolates, and romantic dates. Your children might bring home a bag full of little valentines from friends (and hooray for valentines that now can include stickers or pencils instead of just candy!) Maybe you have fun traditions you do with your kids.

Valentine’s Day can also be a day when your family is sick.Valentine’s Day can remind you of loved ones who have died or ways you or your spouse have fallen short with each other or the kids.

I challenge you to do something new this year, something you might never have done before–make yourself a valentine!

Valentine Supplies (No Shopping Allowed!) 

Grab a piece of paper right now. Yes, now. You can use a post-it note, an index card, or a whole piece of paper. I’m using a folded sheet of paper and an index card. Feeling creative? Break out a stray piece of origami paper your kids left behind or some wrapping paper.

Got it? Great.

Now find something to write with. Crayons are okay. If you feel wild and crazy, you could even use an old lipstick. I’m writing this in my study, so I’m using colored pens and a pencil.

Simple Valentine Message

Here’s the most important part, the only essential part–write down something good about yourself as a mom. Here are some ideas:

I love my kids.

I share books with my kids.

I tell my kids I love them.

Or how about this, something that can be hard to feel: “I am a great mom.”

You can even write it several times in a row, even if you feel silly–this valentine is just for you, for reminding you of something good.

There, you’re done! Look, that wasn’t hard at all. You successfully finished your valentine!

Valentine Decoration?

If it feels more real to you, more like a fact, to keep it simple, just stick with the message, like this:

Decorate if it helps you remember that you have indeed done many great things as a mom, or even better, that who you are as a mom is much more than any individual thing that you do (or fail to do).

You’re making this for yourself, not to impress anyone–make this card what YOU want it to be.

Valentine Storage

Put your valentine somewhere you’ll see it again. You don’t have to display it for anyone else to see. I’m tucking mine into my bedside table.

Valentine Reasons

Why do this? I spend a lot of time worrying about ways I fall short as a mom: times I’m grumpy with the kids and have to apologize, times I can’t take them to the Biopark, times I can’t read to them because of a headache.

Sometimes we do have to stop and honestly look at ourselves and get help for problems big or small. That’s an important part of growing as a mom.

Sometimes, though, we get stuck. Stuck thinking about everything we’ve done wrong and stuck ignoring all the things we’ve done right.

Let’s be honest with ourselves this Valentine’s Day, about the good things as well as the bad things. Happy Valentine’s Day, moms!