CHICAGO — Mother’s Day celebrations kicked off throughout the city on Friday afternoon, honoring women for doing one of the hardest jobs ever: being a mom.
At St. Sabina Church, Chicago moms are being uplifted during what has been an extremely difficult time.
On a holiday where we buy flowers and cards for our mothers and grandmothers, many of these mothers lost their children due to senseless violence.
The organization “Purpose Over Pain” is uplifting these moms on a day when they may feel alone or need encouragement, fulfilling what Mother’s Day is truly about.
Another Mother’s Day celebration throughout the city showed just that.
“My mom is turning 85 Sunday and she’s just the joy of my life. That’s always your mom. Your mom is the most important thing in the world,” Miranda Morgan said.
To most, a mother’s wisdom will follow you for the rest of your life.
“I miss you and I wish you were here. You taught me good. I got your name and I’m standing tall for you,” mother Audrey Harper said.
Harper said she’s also being an example for her 20 grandchildren.
“It’s a blessing to be a mother, a grandmother. It’s a whole job that we don’t get paid for. We get paid with the love and appreciation that we raised our children on,” Harper said.
Despite that, folks with the Daisie Foundation and Chicago Housing Authority say that just isn’t enough for mothers.
“They all got a golden ticket in the mail,” Julie Hightower, executive board member of The Daisie Foundation, said.
This is a day of pampering for the mothers, with gift bags and beauty services at the Charles A. Hayes Center on South Wabash Avenue.
The day serves as a much-needed relief to these moms, with the COVID-19 pandemic making this past year a very tough one.
“Some of them have actually contracted COVID, so why not be able to give them a smile today,” Hightower said.
At St. Sabina, mothers lost more than their jobs. The church is hosting an event for mothers who lost a child due to senseless violence.
“Every Mother’s Day is still hard because we wake up without our child,” Purpose over Pain co-founder Pam Bosley said.
Bosley lost her son Terell to gun violence on April 4, 2006. Terell was just 18 years old.
Bosley said seeing these mothers smile, helping them forget their pain for just a little while is what helps her heal and move on,
“I’m glad to be here today to help other moms because I understand the struggles,” Bosley said.