becoming the wife of a widower….from struggle to joy

My first Mother’s Day

Posted by: Author on: May 11, 2009

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve posted.  Life has been a whirlwind as I adjust to married life, being a mommy, and all that has come along with it.  Mother’s Day can be especially difficult for many who are with a widower or former widower, so I thought I’d squeeze in the time to share my story.

A few days ago, the mother of my husband’s late wife made a point of wishing me a happy mother’s day.  She told me that I was a good mother to Superboy and she thanked me for all that I was doing for her grandson.  A while back, our relationship had been really strained, so it’s wonderful progress that she is going out of her way to wish me a happy mother’s day.  She recently finished painting a portrait of Superboy as a baby with his mother.  She showed it to me (and posted a picture on Facebook).  When Superboy saw it he said, “that’s momma!” and kept playing.  He’ll be three is July and he always identifies pictures of her as momma, and he calls me mommy.  Some day I think it will click in his mind and we are going to have to answer a lot of questions.

A few weeks ago, Superboy was informing me that I was not his mother.  In my mind I began to panick and think, oh my goodness, this can’t be happening so soon!  He can’t be denying me as his mother as such a young age!  He’s got to be at least 7 or 8 before this issue arises!  He went on to inform me that I was his mommy, not his mother :) .  So I almost had an enormous overreaction becasue of the weird way preschoolers understand the English langugage!

Months ago, Superman had told me that he and Superboy would go to the cemetery on Mother’s Day to honor her as his birth mother and that she was his mother for the first year of his life.  He ended up not going.  After we went out to eat the whole family laid down for a nap and he didn’t go.  I had been dreading Mother’s Day for that very reason, not wanting to be left alone at the house and feeling like I was getting jipped on Mother’s Day having to share the day with another woman.  I know that they may go in the future, but at least for this year it was not an issue I needed to deal with.

Superman told me that I was a special mother, as I have taken on the responsibility of nurturing a child I didn’t birth and I have loved him and cared for him as my own.  He seemed particularly thankful for me.  I was concerned that the day might bring up old grief issues, but it didn’t.

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day, and were able to work through the many issues that come up with a holiday such as this.

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To the WOW/GOW community:

I encourage you to leave a comment so others can benefit from your insight and questions. Many forums for wives and girlfriends of widowers/former widowers are not public. I am hoping that by being more public about what happens in our lives, others may be encouraged and some may become more understanding of what we experience. If you are concerned about your identity being discovered by people in your life, please use a screen name. (That's why I haven't disclosed by real name!) Thanks for listening and sharing. ~Author~

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