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Ways To Connect With Your Mum
Growing up, I loved my Mum, but I was “meh” about certain things my Mum did. Pretty sure a lot of us were, especially as teenagers. However, as I grew into an adult, and then had children; suddenly everything changed. Suddenly not only did I see her as a person, I saw her as a strong woman who did amazing things for us.
I am EXTREMELY fortunate to only live 5 minutes down the road from my parents, so I see them a few times each week. However, I know this isn’t possible for most of you. I also know a few of you won’t have a great relationship with your Mum, and for that I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what that’s like for you. Perhaps these suggestions will help, perhaps they won’t. I’m just going to speak from my own experience, and some research I’ve done on the matter …
So here are some ways to connect with your Mum (note, you may be the one who has to take the first step!) … REMEMBER you don’t have to have a struggling relationship to use these tips; it’s good for ALL of us to connect with our parents:
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PHONE CALL
Give your Mum a call on the phone and let her know how you’e doing. Then ask her how she’s doing … that might seem basic but it really is the small things that make a big difference.
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COFFEE / TEA
If you can, pop around for a quick cuppa tea or coffee. Sometimes sitting down over a hot drink can help bring people closer together. You don’t have to meet at someone’s house either, if you can afford to pop out to a cafe, then do just that. Sometimes being on neutral territory can be amazing.
Also, visiting another adult is SO amazing if you’re a Mum. I know that my Mum made me feel like a human being when I went to visit her – like I could finally breath. AND talk about adult things ha!
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TV SHOWS
A recent survey revealed that more than half of all Australian mothers and daughters say sharing TV shows helps to build a stronger relationship between them. With 1 in 4 Australian mothers and daughters stating their relationship is enhanced with the mutual love of television.
You don’t even have to watch a TV show in the same room to be able to connect with someone – a phone call, a cup of tea and a debrief over your favourite show together can go a long way.
One show I plan on personally watching with my Mum is the new part to the Gilmore Girls Series: A Year In The Life. It’s on Netflix, and thankfully we both have it. Whether we watch it together or not, we will be talking about it for days afterwards.
Specifically, Gilmore Girls helps to bridge the generation gap. It is a show that is all about life lessons and lessons learnt with the ones you care about the most.
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BAKING
Either you do it yourself, or get your kids to help; baking is an amazing way of bridging the gap and giving reason to visit someone. Then when you’re there, you can have a cuppa tea/coffee and chat about all things lovely. Or you could simply eat the baking – always works for me HAHA!
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DATE NIGHT
You have a date night with your partner, so why not have one with your Mum?! No reason why you can’t go out for a drink, and dinner. Or head down to the local beach for fish n chips – there’s no reason why that can’t be a date night! Also – movies / tv shows can be date nights too!
Grab a snack (or five) and blob out in front of your favourite show or movie.
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MAKE TIME
That’s right – you have to make time to do this. Life can get busy, life can get complicated; but if you want to connect with your Mum then you’ll have to make sacrifices too. Of course, both parties need to make this sacrifice. If your Mum isn’t willing to come to the party then it really does make it hard.
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REMEMBER
Remember what you’ve gone through as a Mum, and then remember that your Mum might have gone through the same. Or differently. Or worse. We all have experienced things in our lives which define who we are, and Mum’s are no different. This is a way you can connect with your Mum, by remembering.
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So, whether you’re a Mum OR a Daughter (Father or a Son), relationships are important to look after. It’s really easy to get lost in our own lives and forget to reach out to the people closest to us.
As I said above, connecting with someone else (mother, daughter, whoever) is a two way street. It requires both parties to participate; but it is worth it.
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PS I was asked if I wanted to write about Gilmore Girls but this was not a sponsored post, nor was I told what to write. I am truly excited about Gilmore Girls!!!
If you make it to this photo, then hurrah! Look at me, I had a photo with the Gilmore Girls! It’s not photoshopped at all … ????
