05/10/2026
Mother’s Day hits differently when you work in behavioral health.
A few years ago, I got a call from a mother on Mother’s Day morning.
Not to celebrate.
Not to brunch.
Not to open flowers.
She called because she had no idea if her son was alive.
She had spent the entire night driving around Atlanta looking for him.
Checking gas stations.
Parking lots.
Cheap motels.
The homes of people she prayed he wasn’t with.
Every time her phone buzzed, her heart stopped.
She told me, “I used to pray he’d call me asking for money. At least then I knew he was still breathing.”
That sentence still stays with me.
When most people think about addiction, they think about the person using.
What they don’t see is the mother.
The mother who sleeps with her phone on full volume.
The mother who jumps every time an unknown number calls.
The mother who says she’s fine at church while silently wondering if she’ll have to identify her child at the morgue.
The mother who has drained her savings trying to save someone she loves.
The mother who blames herself.
Who asks:
“What did I do wrong?”
“Why wasn’t my love enough?”
“Will I ever get my child back?”
I spent hours on the phone with her that day.
We found her son.
He agreed to treatment.
I helped coordinate the admission, verified insurance, arranged transportation, and stayed on the line until she knew he was safe.
Before we hung up, she started crying.
Not because everything was fixed.
Not because she knew what would happen next.
But because for the first time in years, she felt hope.
She said, “This is the best Mother’s Day gift I could ever receive.”
Recovery doesn’t always happen on the first attempt.
Sometimes it takes multiple tries.
Sometimes the ending is heartbreaking.
But hope is never wasted.
Today, I want to honor every mother who has loved a child through addiction, mental illness, and pain.
The mothers who never gave up.
The mothers who kept answering the phone.
The mothers who kept praying when everyone else stopped believing.
Your love matters more than you know.
And to anyone reading this who is struggling: the greatest gift you can give your mother may be the decision to ask for help.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms carrying burdens no one else can see.
Your strength, love, and faith are nothing short of extraordinary.
