6:30 am it’s a regular wake up time for me today. My body just does it naturally, since I nursed my first child. After attending the Mother’s Day class with many of you the other night. I went to my ‘go to’ piece of PIES, intellect and listed to Brene’ Brown’s Daring Greatly, chapter 3 Understanding and combating Shame while I packed my bags for my morning flight. Before the second flight, the woman sitting next to me at the gate was a retired CEO for major engineering company, who now raises funds for free children’s clinics in her area. What surprised me was she reached into her bag, pulled out her business card and said, “I hope we can stay in touch.” That was a really nice surprise. After she walked away, I thought wow there’s the E in PIES! Which I received whole heartedly. So I thought OK if God is gonna give me the E maybe I should add a P before the next flight. One of the things she shared was “the importance of being authentic” in her world. So when she left I put my earbuds in and opened up my Tai Chi app. Which is not only calming, but it stretches my wounded shoulder. And I stretched for 10 minutes. Yes I got a couple of ‘what are you doing’ looks but I also got some ‘well that’s not a bad idea’ looks. The rest of the gate did not care what I was doing. (Thank the Lord.) So I got on the plane feeling a little more solid and a little more comfortable. So this morning is Sunday, THE “M” DAY. I just reread the Mother’s Day material from Catherine. I am going to get my coffee and and meet God in my study material for next Saturday. Expectant of the S for my PIES. Many times when I come to God’s word, even with a heavy heart. It is better than not coming at all.

This community exists for exactly this moment. For the mothers who won't be getting brunch reservations or handmade cards. For the ones who will spend Sunday wondering if their child thought of them at all. You belong here. And you are so deeply not alone. We want to hear from you this week. What would you want another mom in your situation to know she's not alone in feeling? Share it below — your words might be exactly what someone else needs to read today.

Sunday is just a few days away. And we want to make sure you have what you need. Catherine created a free guide called "Getting Through Mother's Day When Your Heart Is Heavy." It covers what you might be feeling and why it's completely normal, how to plan the day intentionally, a self-compassion journaling exercise, and where to find support. DOWNLOAD YOUR MOTHER'S DAY GUIDE Catherine is also hosting a "Mother's Day Check-in" for those navigating a painful Mother's Day. Real conversation. A safe space: 🗓️ Friday May 8, 2026 at 8:30pm EST/ 5:30pm PST You don't have to explain yourself to anyone this week. You just have to show up, here, with us, exactly as you are. 🙂

Warning…This is a long one! I am not offended if you don’t read all. My middle daughter and I are in Orlando. I am so grateful for the modules 1-3 and Catherine lecture Tuesday May 5th! Day 1 “I put my ears on”. My daughter stressed with her work that she literally arrived at our long planned Disney restbit “unhinged” and disrespectful to the workers at the airport when she picked me up. She had an arrogant, I deserve everything attitude. We got into the car and she continued ranting. I just paused until the rant was over. Then I just parroted back “It sounds like to me your trip here was very stressful and you didn’t stop a long way and make sure that you had meals or even water am I right?” she agreed. Then I said how about we solve that problem first what are you hungry for? Day 2 As we we’re entering Universal Epoch Studios, She became unhinged again. This time the rant went in for longer and when it was over I paused again. This time I was box breathing because of the rant was personal. ( ignoring the personal insults of my adopted 33-year-old) What came out was, “ so what I hear you saying is that your job is so stressful that you feel like you have no place of peace?” she said yes, then I responded with “ Have you considered what options you’d like to take with that?” she calmed down and I did my best to give her space to think. She spun up two more times in the park. And I used the same tactic. I did eventually fail. And at the end of the evening, when she dressed me down for in the line to the bathroom “Didn’t you just go to the bathroom 15 minutes ago?” So I lost my resolve at 10pm and said “there’s no need to embarrass me in front of this line of people.” And I walked to find another restroom. And instead of following along behind. She left the park, while I was in the restroom. Without any text message or telling me where she went. It was closing time and she abandoned me. With no way to get to the hotel and not even an address for it. She finally answered the text message and told me she went to the car. I had to ask where the car was and with no signs in the parking she to get walk back to find me.

Ambiguous grief, also known as ambiguous loss, is a type of complicated grief that can occur when someone experiences a significant relationship loss without a physical death. This type of loss can involve a lack of information or closure, and can manifest as sadness, anger, emptiness, and loneliness.