Happy Bereaved Mother’s Day?

May 4, 2025

You truly do learn something new every day.

I was scrolling through my Facebook page today and saw the following post on my timeline from Paula Hill, founder of Austin’s Sunshine Foundation.

Needless to say, it took me by surprise.

The post said “Happy Bereaved Mother’s Day”

After seeing this, I thought two things: First, I had no clue this day existed and second, this is an oxymoron.

I am a grieving mother. The word “Happy” before “Bereaved” made no sense.

Bereavement is not happiness.

I wanted to know more about this day, so I researched online and found that Bereaved Mother’s Day is observed on the first Sunday in May.

That’s interesting. Mother’s Day always falls on the second Sunday in May.

I continued to read :

“Bereaved Mother’s Day honors Mothers who have lost a child. It is intended to provide a space for grieving mothers to express their loss in any way they may need. This day can be a celebration of mothers as well as a remembrance of loss“

After completing this, I thought, “Okay, it’s starting to make more sense, and it’s a good idea to mark this day on the Sunday before Mother’s Day.”

I returned to Paula’s post and continued from where I had left off. Paula was a guest speaker in an online Grief 2 Hope session I attended a few weeks ago. Her son, Austin, died in a motorcycle accident when he was in his early twenties. His death inspired her to create a non-profit charity, Austin’s Sunshine Foundation, in his honor.

The more I read, the more I understood why I should be “happy’ for this special day.

Bereaved Mother’s Day: A Love That Time Cannot Dim

https://www.facebook.com/AustinsSunshine

To every mother who carries the weight of love with empty arms—this day is for you.

Bereaved Mother’s Day, observed the Sunday before Mother’s Day, is a sacred space to honor the mothers whose children live in Heaven, not in their homes. It is a day born not out of celebration, but remembrance. Out of pain but also enduring love. It is a day that quietly whispers, you are still a mother—and always will be.

There is no word powerful enough to describe a mother who has lost her child. No language that fully captures the ache, the resilience, or the sacred bond that death cannot sever. Your love did not end the day your child left this earth. In many ways, it deepened, growing roots in places invisible to the eye—etched into your very soul.

You are not forgotten.

You are not invisible.

You are not alone.

While the world may hurry past your grief, you remain steadfast in your love. The way you speak their name. The way you remember their birthday. The way your eyes still search the sky, catching glimpses of them in sunsets, feathers, butterflies, or songs that suddenly play when you need them most.

That is motherhood, too.

There is immeasurable strength in simply waking up each day and carrying this love forward. There is grace in allowing yourself to grieve, to cry, to laugh again. And there is sacred beauty in the way you still parent from afar—honoring their memory, telling their story, and living a life that speaks their name.

To the mother who feels forgotten: You are remembered.

To the mother who feels broken: You are still whole in the eyes of love.

To the mother who wonders if she counts today: You do. More than words could ever say.

This day is for you.

We see your heart.

We speak your child’s name with you.

We honor the love that lives on.

From one grieving mother to another, I want you to know—you are so deeply loved. Your child mattered. Your grief matters. You matter.

May today bring you a moment of peace, a breath of gentleness, and the reminder that even in the darkest silence, your love echoes forever.

You will always be their mother.

The Lightbulb Moment

Paula’s heartfelt post gave me a new perspective, and now everything makes perfect sense. Tears were streaming down my face.

Bereaved Mother’s Day is a special day for mothers like me to pause, cherish the wonderful memories of being John’s mother, and to honor him.

Although John is no longer here, I am grateful for the gift of motherhood and the happiness it has brought into my life.

Thank you, son.

Now that I fully understand, I can lovingly say:

Happy Bereaved Mother’s Day to all mothers whose children have gone before them and are now in Heaven.