This Sunday is Mothers’ Day in Australia.

There are many types of Mums.

The Mum whose Mum isn’t here:  enjoying a special day with her kids, whilst missing her own Mum like crazy. Brisbane Kids has a lovely article on how to get through Mothers Day when your Mum isn’t here.

The Bereaved Mum:  she puts on the happy face for her kids when she gets cold tea and soggy toast but can’t help but shed a silent tear for the angel who isn’t there to give her a hug.

The Tired Mum:  she spends her days and nights running after kids or juggling work and kids.  The prospect of some ‘alone time’ on one day a year is bliss.   Probably just a sleep in will make her day.  A mani-pedi will have her overjoyed.  If you are the Dad of that Mum’s kids, I suggest taking the kids out early to buy breakfast ingredients on Sunday morning so there is a lovely silent house.  Maybe leave an hour before the shops even open and go to the park.  Leave a note on your pillow though, so she doesn’t worry!

The Hoping-to-be-a Mum: she desperately wants to be a Mum.  For whatever reason – fertility, not finding the right man and lots of other possible reasons – it just hasn’t happened.  Mother’s Day is bittersweet.  She is happy for her Facebook friends having fun with their kids but wonders if she will ever have that chance.  Bianca Dye spoke about her struggle with this,  over the course of the last week on 973Fm’s breakfast show.

The Separated/co-parenting Mum: she  doesn’t have her kids with her everyday.  She gets plenty of  ‘alone time’.  Maybe more than she would like.   Last Sunday morning, the kids woke up in a different house and she had her tea and toast alone.    We see a lot of these Mums.  One of the conversations we have when drafting parenting plans and orders is around Mothers Day and Fathers Day.  When I started my career there was a standard thing that you would have the kids from 9am-5pm.  More often now after we talk through the realities of that, Mums are opting to have the kids from the night before and until school on Monday so that their special day is all theirs with their kids.

There are many other types of Mums in Australia and this list is by no means exhaustive (even though being a Mum can be exhausting!)  Whichever one you might be  (and you may be more than one)  I hope you get to spend Mothers’ Day with people you love.

If you are looking for something to do on Mother’s Day that doesn’t require a booking, queuing (or best of all, money!)  check out Families Magazine’s page full of free things to do in Brisbane.

To all the Mums out there – however you might describe yourself…

Have a wonderful Mothers’ Day!