Mother’s Day often brings to mind flowers, breakfast in bed, and picture-perfect moments shared on social media. But for some women, the day carries a far more complex emotional weight.
Brenda Brown and Susan Penner from Life Culture understand this well. Through their work supporting women in the community, they’ve seen firsthand how the expectations surrounding motherhood can feel overwhelming.
Brown notes that for single mothers, the pressure is especially intense, made worse by rising living costs.
“They don't really have a choice but to work. And the expectation on moms to not only keep up with the workload at home and parent their kids and taxi their kids, there's also the expectation that they're bringing in a good income in order to provide, so there is a lot of pressure on moms.”
Penner says supporting those around you is important and the most meaningful encouragement often comes through simple, thoughtful gestures.
“I don't think it actually needs to be that complicated. I think it's really about acknowledging somebody and reaching out. Whether that's dropping off a coffee, sending a text, sending some sort of note of encouragement. It's not the big things, I think we need to be doing as much as it's the small things we can do to champion and encourage each other, that means so much.”
She encourages people to look at those closest to them when thinking about how to offer support.
“If we can just look around us to the people we know, whether it's in our families, whether it's work, church, wherever the connection is. I think we should start there and see what we can do there to be intentional about reaching out to those we can actually influence around us.”
Brown has been actively connecting with single mothers in the community to understand what they need and what they’re missing.
“I initially started reaching out to single moms to see if there was a desire to connect with other single moms. One of the moms had just said can we do something on Mother's Day because it's just like any other day. And I think that just spoke to the isolation, not only isolation but also feeling alone. I think those are two separate things. I'm just wanting to connect with other people, and so I think that there are needs, mainly in that area. Certainly, there would be financial needs and practical needs, but I think that is paramount is just that women are looking for connection.”
Life Culture runs several programs designed to offer that kind of connection, including a regular “Single Moms Night Out” held every second Friday of the month.
“That's been a really fun time of just meeting, and it's incredible during those times how much in common the moms have,” says Brown. “We also do home visits and meal drop-offs just to break up a long day.”
Looking ahead, Brown shares that Life Culture plans to launch a parenting course tailored for single mothers.
“In the fall, we're hoping to run a parenting course for single moms. We've also heard that is an area that women would love to have some input on and also to gather with other moms to feel like they're not alone in their struggles.”
She says that in-person programs like these can help moms stop comparing themselves to what they see on social media.
“I think that's one of the strengths and power in meeting together for the single moms night out or even for the parenting course coming up is that it normalizes your struggles because on social media, we can present our ideal self, but it's not necessarily representing who we actually are in our day-to-day struggles and so that helps women to not feel alone.”
Brown shares some words of encouragement with moms who may be feeling the weight of Mother’s Day and other daily struggles.
“Just to the moms out there, whether you can see it or not, you're making a huge impact and difference in your kids' lives, your supports, your late nights, your early mornings, your sacrifice is noted, even though it's a thankless job at times. I know I've noticed it in certain people's lives as I've observed, so be encouraged and be kind to yourself, take time for yourself.”
Penner echoes that message with a reminder to give yourself grace.
“I would say to moms, don’t be so hard on yourself. We're all doing the best we can, and that is good enough. Life has seasons, sometimes things are going to be harder, sometimes they'll ease up. But just do your best in the season you're in, and things will work out.”
With files from Judy Peters