Tag Archives: mother’s day

Beauty + Joy, Celebrating in the Dark, Love Better

LoveGram: Mamma Mia

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Happy Sunday to you, beautiful human!

How do I know you are beautiful? Because you are here, wanting to focus on love, appreciation, everyday joy, and gratitude.

You are here, wanting to make magical moments for yourself and for people you love.

I see you.

I see your generous, open heart.

***

Today, my LoveGram is about Mother’s Day — all of the joys and grief and everything in between.

I think it is important on these Hallmark holidays for us to remember the range of emotions people might be experiencing.

Listen to today’s Audio LoveGram by clicking through to this page now!  (Just scroll down on that page until you see the audio player. Press play. That’s it!)

***

I am just back from three weeks of exquisite travel, meeting the most amazing people and seeing such great beauty. I also got to connect with two very dear friends — one who lives in France and the other in Portugal.

Time like that with people we love is priceless.

I want to tell you more, but here in the United States it is Mother’s Day and it feels important to focus on that today.

I’ll tell you why.

These Hallmark holidays can be really rough for people who feel excluded in some way.

Mother’s Day can be such a joyful time for those of us who have mothers we love dearly or children we are deeply connected to. It can be a wonderful day to celebrate with our families.

However, it can be a heartbreaking day for someone whose mother or child has died. It can be emotional for someone whose mom is ill or dealing with dementia.

It can bring up deep sadness for people who desperately wanted to have children, but couldn’t. Or for people who are estranged from their children or mothers.

Years ago, my friend Roberta shared with me how hard Mother’s Day was for her as a single mom with a very young child. There was no one to celebrate her. There was no one to take her little boy to the store to pick out a box of chocolates or a flower for his mom.

I say these things because if you are someone who might be having a hard time today, please know I am here with you.

Know that you can respond to this email and have someone on the other end who is giving you a big ole virtual hug.

Please also consider reaching out to someone you are close with and letting them know you could use some extra love. It can be hard to do that, but it can also be such great self-care. And, we all appreciate being asked to help. Sometimes we just don’t think about it. And it feels good to be asked.

And — if you are someone who is not having a hard time today, would you consider reaching out to one person in your life who might be having a difficult day?

Maybe a friend of yours is grieving the loss of a parent or child? Or, maybe you know a single mom who could use some celebration?

Maybe you know someone who has a difficult relationship with her mom or child? Or one of your friends is someone who never had the mother or child she longed for?

***

This is also a great day to express appreciation to a woman who nurtured you like a mom. Think about baking some muffins for your sweet auntie who was always there for you. Or, for the woman who took you under her wing and offered love and support.

Let’s make this a day of love with many facets.

Let’s open our hearts and send out love to those who are celebrating and those who are sad.

Let’s be together in all of it, okay?

***

I love you. I’m here with you.

Whatever this day is or isn’t for you, we’re together. Hand in hand.

Thank you for being on this journey of love, celebration, grief,  confusion, messiness, and appreciation with me.

It’s okay (and natural) that it is all here on our journey.

 

Seek celebration — even in dark corners,

xo Sherry

Unique Gifts

Don’t wait; Say it Now

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It is my two-year book birthday for “Say it Now!” 🎉

More than ever, I am dedicated to the message of this book, which is that it is essential to express our love and appreciation to the people in our lives.

Please do not wait. Please do not think, “I’ll do it when they turn 50,” or “I’ll do it when I have more time to focus,” or “I’ll do it when I’m struck by some inspiration.”

The title for this book came from my own experiences of having attended countless funerals during which people would tell these amazing stories about the person who had died. They’d share photos and express their thankfulness for how that person had changed their life.

They would give so many beautiful and specific reasons why the person who had died was so beloved.

Inevitably, those friends/family would feel regret that they hadn’t shared all of that with the person before they’d died. And I would always think, “We should say it now.”

I’m imploring with you to take this message to heart. If anything, this pandemic has reminded us that we just don’t know what’s around the corner. We don’t know how long we have — or how long the people we love have.

Mother’s Day is just a few days away. What if you committed to giving a mom in your life a gift that goes way beyond chocolates and a store-bought card?

What if you chose to tell just ONE PERSON — your own mom, your grandmother, your step-mom, your mother-in-law, a friend who is a mom, someone who has been like a mom to you — WHY they have made a difference in your life.

My book is filled with creative ideas for doing just that. Most of the ideas don’t cost much (if any) money. Most of them are really simple. You don’t have to be clever or crafty to create them. But their impact is profound.

These are the types of gifts people keep and remember for the rest of their lives. Because these are gifts of connection.

I truly believe that what people want MOST in the world is to feel like our lives matter. We want to feel like we’ve made a difference — not because of our awards or accolades— but because of who we are to the people we love.

Will you commit to giving that to someone?

I’d be so grateful if you would buy my book + choose a special gift idea for this mom in your life. You’d be getting 33 meaningful creative gift ideas, which you can use over and over!

If you already have my book, would you consider buying a copy and giving it to a friend or putting it in a local Little Free Library?

I’d be deeply appreciative of your help in spreading the “Say it Now” message!

But, please don’t let that $12 get in your way of expressing your love! You can also download my free Love List ToolKit, which gives you everything you need to create a one-of-a-kind loving gift in just minutes.

The toolkit comes with printables, prompts and presentation tips. You can download it here. 

If even that feels like too much, please do this: think about one way that someone has touched your life. Call or text that person and TELL THEM.

“You are on my mind right now and I’m feeling so grateful for who you are and for your big heart. I’m remembering that time I had the flu and you talked to me on the phone for two hours, telling stories that made me laugh and forget how bad I felt. That is just one example of how amazing you are.”

Imagine how you would feel right now if you got a call or text like that? Wouldn’t it make your whole day?

Don’t wait. Life is fleeting; say it now. Okay? Promise?

Seek celebration — even in dark corners,

xo Sherry

 

💜  P.S. It’s super fun to create Love Lists with other people. I’m hosting an hour long Love List Party on Saturday morning at 8am PDT. I’ll be sharing prompts to make it EASY AS PIE! Stay tuned for Zoom details or email me + I’ll remind you!

💜 P.P.S. If you know someone with a big heart who enjoys appreciating others, would you gift them with my book, “Say it Now” so they can enjoy brand new ways to spread sunshine and goodness? I’d be so GRATEFUL for your help spreading this message. ??

💜 P.P.S. It’s fun to celebrate “birthdays” of things we’ve created, of our animals, and of ANYTHING. What kind of birthday could you create to add some extra celebration to your life?

 

Beauty + Joy, Gratitude

LoveGram: Think Smaller

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Hello, my beautiful friend.

Today, I send you the wonder and striking beauty of bursts of purple flowers along the morning walk.

I send you the feeling of energy in your body as your legs carry you across the blocks of your neighborhood and as your hand raises up to wave to the neighbor in the houndstooth cap with the joyful crooked grin.

I send you the orchestra of birds — sounds like dozens of different ones! — who greet you along the way.

I send you these words to carry in your pocket all week: ease, simplicity, smallness, effortless.

Today, my LoveGram is about how we can offer love and appreciation to someone in our life — and do it in a way that takes little time, but is filled with big big heart.

Yep, today we are talking about Minimal Viable Product (MVP).

 

Listen here!  Just scroll down on that page until you see the audio player.  

 

Pause to think about simple ways others have shown you love + how it fueled you. 

Get quiet and consider someone who may need a boost of love this week. 

Trust your own inner wisdom.

Trust your goodness, creativity, and blooming joy. 

Know that you can find ease in the ways you express love. 

 

Thank you for listening, today.

Thank you for your kind heart, which I see and know!

 

Seek celebration — even in dark corners,

xo Sherry

 

💓   P.S. This week’s challenge is to think of at one person whom you want to send some love to for Mother’s Day. Hold that person in your mind and commit to finding the smallest, most easy way to tell them how you feel. I’ll send some ideas later this week. But also, your mind will start to work for you and ideas will likely drop in! Remember, we are going for small, small “songs” of love, like Lhasa De Sela.

 

💓   P.P.S. The book I mention in this LoveGram is “Effortless” by Greg McKeown.

Celebrating in the Dark, Kindness as a Gift

Who needs some TLC on Mother’s Day?

sherry-mom-kayne-2016

Mother’s Day is coming up in a couple days.

I’m incredibly fortunate that not only am I a mom to an amazing son, I am also the daughter of a wonderful mom. Mother’s Day is a time that I feel celebrated by my family and also when I get to appreciate and celebrate my own mom.

But believe me, I don’t take either of these relationships for granted. I know how lucky I am. I know that for a lot of people Mother’s Day can be filled with longing or loss. It can be a hard day for anyone whose mom has passed away, whose children have died, who were never able to have children, or who may have difficult relationships with their kids or mom. It can also be a hard day for single moms who don’t have a partner to plan a celebration for them or make the day special.

My friend and former colleague, Roberta Brown, wrote a piece for all the single moms out there: Single Mom Confessions: I Hate Mother’s Day—And How I’m Changing That. I am honored that she quotes one of my gift ideas in the article. But more importantly, I am so grateful that she is raising awareness that these kinds of Hallmark holidays can be really difficult for people.

 

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I’d love for us all to think of one person in our lives who might experience pain or grief this weekend while others are celebrating. Can we each commit to offering some small gesture of love or kindness to that person to acknowledge them?

That opportunity was handed to me on a silver platter this week when I read Roberta’s wonderful article. I emailed her to ask if she would be open to having me set up a recorded telephone interview with her 12-year-old son as a way of celebrating her. She said yes! I’m really excited to be able to acknowledge Roberta because she is a loving, generous, fun, spirited mom. Interviewing her son about her will be a gift for ME!

Could you do this same thing for a single mom you know? Or perhaps you’d want to write a card about what a great mom she is.

Or if you know someone who will be missing their mom, you could call them and tell them a favorite happy memory about their mom and let them know you, too, are thinking of her.

I’m grateful to Roberta for reminding me to think beyond my own small world — and to consider folks I know who may need an extra boost this Mother’s Day.

Do me a favor, if you do something thoughtful for someone who needs some TLC this weekend, would you be willing to post it on my Present Perfect Gifts page on Facebook? You could inspire others! If you’re not on Facebook, email me. I love to hear from you! You always inspire ME!

And if YOU are someone who is having a difficult time this Mother’s Day, be sure and reach out to a close friend or family member and let them know you need some love. People will be glad you asked.

With special love to all the moms out there and all the children of moms and everyone who loves a mom…

Yours,
Sherry

 

P.S. I’ve compiled some questions for you to ask someone’s child if you want to do this for Mother’s Day. You can edit the questions and use them to interview someone’s mother, as well.

P.P.S. Here’s the follow-up to my interview with Roberta’s 12-year-old son!