Infertility and a Reason to Ignore Mother’s Day

It’s over.

The celebration of Mother’s Day is officially passed for another year. The cards will come out of the stores, restaurants and florists will stop running those promotions, and every woman who struggles with the challenges of infertility can stop feeling hurt, resentful, or any other emotion that the event brings to the surface.

But if Mother’s Day is a problem for you, hold on to a tiny piece of those emotions, to help you build empathy for others.

I am sure that Father’s Day is painful for men who are not able to have a family and that Valentines Day is not only painful for everyone who goes through the day alone, but is especially difficult for men and women who have experienced the loss of a beloved companion or spouse.

I also suspect that “Back to School Shopping Days” are heartbreaking to parents who have lost a child; Veteran’s Day is brutal for those who have lost someone in the military; and Thanksgiving and Christmas bring more hurt than happiness to people who face those “family holidays” alone.

The point is, we all have our days of celebration and days that we’d rather ignore. For me, as the mother of a handicapped child, there are quirky events that trigger painful emotions–like every time the television networks air Forrest Gump. That movie, which I am sure gave pleasure to millions and millions of viewers, always strikes me as a parody of a situation that really isn’t funny; an unrealistic view of mentally handicapped people.

But then I realize that it really isn’t all about me and I shouldn’t deny the rest of the world’s right to laugh at, and with Forrest, just because it dredges up complex emotions in me.

Mother’s Day doesn’t have to be painful. Just let it go. Think of it as a holiday for someone else, and then ignore it the way you ignore Hanukkah if you are not Jewish or Easter if you are not Christian.

You should see how fast I can switch the channel when somebody starts talking about life being like a box of chocolates.

Linda