Are You One Tough Mother? #OneToughMother #Teleflora

This celebration of what it means to me to be “one tough mother” is brought to you via my partnership with Teleflora.  All thoughts, opinions and mommy moments, as always, are that of Rural Mom!

You’re in the center of the store and your child acts up.  Maybe it’s because you won’t buy them a cart full of candy.  Maybe it’s because  you woke them up from their peaceful nap in the car to run necessary errands.  Maybe they are just itching for some extra attention.  No matter what the reason, they just won’t settle down and allow you to get through the store without causing a ruckus of a scene.

And then it happens…

You get “the look.”

You know the one. The raised brow, staring down the bridge of the nose, sharpening of the eyes, disdainful stare from a fellow shopper that instantly conveys a silent scream of disapproval for your apparent lack of parenting skills, triggering a wash of shame to cloak your vision and a helpless despair. Because, really, seriously, what is wrong with your parenting skills that you’ve allowed your child to disrupt the lives of every patron in the grocery store with their loud wails and panicked cries?

Oh yes, I’ve gotten “the look” before from some misguided individual who either had spawned Stepford children, had never raised children, or worse, had forgotten how difficult raising a child can sometimes be.

But even worse than being on the receiving end of “the look”… I’ve been guilty of giving “the look.”

Shudder.

It’s so easy to judge, isn’t it, when you are on the other end.

It’s almost involuntary reaction. We see a situation that disrupts the status quo or makes us cringe in some manner and we jump to judgement. How easily we quickly forget how our own children’s tantrums or worse, our own imperfections. And instead of aiding the situation, we judge the perpetrator of imperfection in our path.

What if we all took a different path, though, took a note from nature and rather than impose our judgement on a situation, we chose to be the beautiful bloom in the field, the one who empowers others and ourselves with a compassionate approach.

Instead of shooting a judgmental “look” towards the mom struggling in the grocery store to maintain some sense of decorum, we offered a sympathetic nod and smile of understanding. Offered a kind word of empathy or a sentence of encouragement that you had “been there, done that and it does get better.”

This to me is what it means to be “one tough mother.”  Both the ability to understand that we will not always have perfect mommy moments and that neither will others.  I believe strongly that moms need to empower and support one another. It is key to making a difference, to creating a stronger community, and to offer all of our children a better future… one where critical judgement doesn’t rule our choices, but compassion and love brighten our way.

It’s time we shift the paradigm and teach our children the values that truly matter, whether it is through our own actions or simply the kindness a stranger offers in the midst of an uncomfortable situation.

This Mother’s Day, Teleflora, the world’s leading floral delivery service, is celebrating motherhood with the launch of the “One Tough Mother” Campaign and a new collection of Mother’s Day bouquets available now at Teleflora.

As a special tribute to mom’s “tough, gritty, no-pain-no-gain” job, Teleflora is also unveiling a touching new Mother’s Day video ad on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram on April 25th. The video ad is the newest in a collection of critically-acclaimed Teleflora holiday videos, which captures the sentiment of gifting flowers with some of the most heartfelt and touching life moments shared  between loved ones. In addition to the video, moms and their children are encouraged to share their personal Mother’s Day stories on social media with #OneToughMother.

I plan to celebrate the most important mom” in my life (my mom!) by sending her the lovely Teleflora Garden Pitcher Bouquet (the same bouquet that has been highlighted in the photos for this feature.)  It’s a gorgeous mix of rich lavender roses and chrysanthemums, fragrant white lilies and eucalyptus is hand-delivered in a tall, rustic Provencal-style water pitcher.

It’s also the perfect sentiment to send my mom a “thank you” for all the times she’s been “one tough mother” for me and my siblings.  I’m sure we earned her plenty of “the looks” from others with our childhood missteps!  As we live in different states, sending my mom flowers is a way to celebrate her and to share our love of nature, too.

There are plenty of other brilliant arrangements available in the Teleflora Mother’s Day collection to help you celebrate and say “thank you” to the special moms in your life.  Check out the full collection on the Teleflora website.