7 Moms You Meet on Valentine’s Day | Which One Are You?

Happy Valentine’s Week! There can be a lot of negativity in The Cyber Jungle regarding parenthood. It’s enough to make a grown woman cry. So I thought together we could spread a little love by talking about the 7 Moms You Meet on Valentine’s Day. (Mix-and-match to create your own Awesome Mom formulas!)  

1. The Hipster Mama

She spent all morning boiling beets to get that perfect shade of red to dye treats naturally, while her children happily played with gender-nonspecific wooden blocks.  Her (well-styled) kids are excited to be getting a little bit of (all natural) sugar (substitute), even if it is mixed in with organic kale and fair trade chia seeds and vegan-artisinal-sustainable-bicycles-beards-fedora-boutiques. (I just started saying words there. I don’t know.) I am proud to know this Mama because she can get my child to eat wheat germ and almond butter without protest. She may just have magical powers and she is AWESOME!

2. The Single Mom

She is a champ.  She works hard outside of the home — and in — doing the work of two people. She dreamed of having the perfect thing to send into school for her child’s class.  But rather than spending time on elaborately-made Valentines for her child(ren) to take to school, she wisely decided to play one more round of Crazy 8’s before bedtime (okay, maybe two). Spending one-on-one time with her child? Winning. Because she is sending the perfect thing to school — a well-loved, well-rested child. She may be tired but she’s tireless. Somebody get her a trophy!

3. The Pinterest Mom

She used an hour of her rare free time scouring Pinterest for ideas for her child’s class party? Thank you! You have done what many cannot: sacrificing your time (ahem — and pinning hilarious pictures from Some E-Cards) so all our kids can play some games with conversation hearts and eat chocolate-dipped Rice Krispy Treats on a stick.

• Themed bunting made from upcycled used children’s books? Check.
• Chevron paper straws? Check.
• Thoughtful gifts for the teacher on behalf of the whole class? Check.

This Mama makes us ALL look good. Three cheers!

4. The Simple Mom

Her strategy is straightforward: use what you’ve got.  She may not be the craftiest gal on the block — or by her estimation, even in the room — but she is not shy to spend time with her kids creating an easy crafty project with them. Her children admire her willingness to do what she can with what she has, probably because she’s letting them use glue and googly eyes.  Brave soul.  Though she might rather clean an actual pipe than make one more thing with pipe cleaners, she understands what really matters in life (psst — it’s the time spent together). For that she’s a top-notch Mom!

5. The Working Mom

She rocks her desk job as a graphic designer. Now she’s bringing those skills home to help her daughter create something her little heart is set on: pony princess valentines. With nary an eye roll, she set to work helping her daughter’s imagination come to life on paper. By showing her child what she does all day, she is modeling that girls are truly awesome.  By including her daughter in the process, she may just raise a girl who feels empowered to follow her own dreams, too. You dazzle us all, Working Mom.  We salute you!

6. The Sensible Mom

While walking through Target, her child spotted it: with eagle-eye precision, he honed in on the box of 36 Avengers valentines — with stickers, Mom! She has sage wisdom honed over many years of meditation and deep breathing exercises — or maybe it was a rare moment of clarity? Well, either way, she knew that letting her child make his own decision about what valentines to give his classmates would instill self-confidence in a way that she had been trying to teach for months now. Letting go of her Perfectly Homemade fantasies, she bought the Avengers valentines.  This Mom is MY super hero!

7. The Social Justice Mama

If Valentine’s Day is about love and hearts, this Mama has a compassionate heartbeat to share.  She knows that chocolate candy manufacturers often utilize terrible working conditions and child labor to bring us the chocolate we buy so inexpensively.  And she’s not okay with that. She ‘votes’ with her money (and gently educates us to do the same) by intentionally buying non-chocolate or fair trade certified chocolate for her child to share with friends. Her humane caring is inspirational. Social Justice Mama, you are an awesome parent!

Bonus: The New Mommy

She will eventually become some iteration of one of the above Moms, but she’s still figuring it out. Actually, she’s probably figuring out what that stain is on her hip. It’s hard taking who you are and fitting it into a different mold. Same pieces, new shape. What do I look like in this new role? How do I pick from the sea of choices and learn from this little life who cannot communicate with me yet? She’s where we all started: bewildered, glowing with expectation, having hard days and beautiful ones (often those are the same days). Maybe she feels like a milk cow. She definitely feels tired.  So she deserves a “pass” for a few years — no need to decide right NOW which Valentine’s Mom she’ll be, thankyouverymuch. (Just sleep when the baby sleeps. For real.) And she — though sometimes she may not feel it — is amazing.

So, Who Are You?

Last year was our inaugural year for my son to pass out Valentines to his preschool classmates. I went the Pinterest Mom route with homemade pirate valentines. Knowing there would likely be lots of treats, I didn’t want to send in more candy. So we used some extra eye patches left over from his birthday party (use what you’ve got!) and I hot glued googly eyes on them. It was cute and crafty, but you know what? His absolute favorite Valentines he received were the store-bought character ones. Spiderman? Doc McStuffins? Cars? They made his little heart go pitter-patter. I want to know: what kind of Mom are you? Did I miss any “type?” Let me know in the comments below! The moral of the story: no matter your particular “flavor” of motherhood (or maybe a combination of these!), you are incredible. Parenting is not for the faint of heart, so this Valentine’s Day we honor the things you choose to value. We recognize that it takes ALL types to make the world go ’round. Want more encouragement? See our Pinterest board, Encouragement and Inspiration for Moms.

About Aubrey Hunt
Before hopping on the crazy ride we call motherhood, I studied engineering and taught math and science to middle and high school students. Now, perhaps like you, I fill my days singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and praying my preschooler will eat a vegetable — any vegetable!