Motherhood Isn't Delicate

I’ve always had a complicated relationship with Mother’s Day. The version that shows up every year with soft colors, flowers, and a certain kind of sentiment doesn’t quite land for me. It can feel a little saccharine and too narrow a representation for what motherhood actually is.

It’s not that I feel conflicted about being a parent. It’s that I don’t relate to the Hallmark version that consumer culture packages and hands back to us. The one that leans on fragility and folds motherhood neatly into a softer, smaller idea of what women are.

We were talking about a May email in our staff meeting, and I caught myself thinking, we don’t really sell Mother’s Day (capital M, capital D) kind of things.

But then I thought about the mothers in this neighborhood: attorneys, business owners, authors, educators, and creatives. These women lead and sustain communities, families, and industries. They are mothers who are thoughtful, decisive, who take risks, and carry more than most people see, and there’s nothing delicate about that.

This shop is full of things I use and care about, and I’m a mother. This might be the only Mother’s Day email in your inbox to feature carbon steel scissors and a brass ruler, but these are just as much Mother’s Day gifts as a lavender scented lotion and diffuser set. 

Being a mother has always required fortitude, but right now, it asks for something even more active: a presence, clarity, and a willingness to step forward and hold your ground. So maybe this year, lean into the chutzpah and honor the gutsy, courageous women at the heart of everything.