Coloring Pages for Healing, Grief, and Self-Love

Reframing Mother’s Day: Coloring Pages for Healing, Grief, and Self-Love

Mother’s Day can be a complicated holiday.

While the world is busy celebrating moms with flowers, cards, and brunches, for many people, this day brings up something very different—grief, estrangement, absence, or even quiet, unspoken pain. If that’s you, please know: you are not alone.

Whether you’ve lost your mother, are estranged from her, or never had a nurturing maternal figure to begin with, this day can feel like an emotional minefield. It’s hard to see joyful tributes when your own relationship with Mother’s Day is shaped by heartbreak, confusion, or longing.

But what if we could take this day and gently transform it into something else—something personal, peaceful, and healing?

A New Way to Honor the Day

Instead of avoiding the emotions that arise, what if you gave yourself permission to meet them with kindness? Instead of pretending the day doesn’t exist, what if you used it to reconnect with your own journey—with your chosen family, your healing, your inner child?

That’s why I created a small collection of Mother’s Day coloring pages that speak to the complex experiences many people have around motherhood. These pages are meant to be a gentle outlet—whether for reflection, grief, self-compassion, or simply making space for your truth.

Why Coloring?

Coloring is more than a relaxing activity—it’s a quiet, creative way to process emotions. The repetitive, soothing motions of coloring help regulate your nervous system and provide a sense of calm. When paired with intentional affirmations or meaningful imagery, it can also offer space for reflection, comfort, and personal growth.

Studies have shown that coloring mandalas and other structured designs can reduce anxiety and support mindfulness. Even just 10 minutes of coloring can be a simple, healing ritual—especially on difficult days like Mother’s Day.

What I’ve Created for You

Here are the four printable coloring pages I’ve designed specifically for those navigating Mother’s Day with tenderness and complexity:

Chosen Family Coloring Page - to the ones who held me

1. To the Ones Who Held Me

A simple page for all ages, featuring hands forming a heart and a delicate flower border. This page honors the people—friends, mentors, grandparents, or chosen family—who offered love and care when your mother couldn’t or didn’t. It’s a tribute to the ones who stepped in and showed up.

2. I Mother Myself with Love

For those nurturing their inner child, this heartfelt coloring page features the powerful affirmation “I Mother Myself with Love,” wrapped in soothing swirls and the tender embrace of a mother and child. A reminder that you are worthy of care, and that you can be a loving presence for yourself.

3. I Nurture the Garden That Never Grew

A page for those walking the path of self-healing. At its center is a butterfly, surrounded by cocoons, flowers, and gently curling vines—symbols of transformation, patience, and growth. The affirmation speaks to nurturing what was missing with love and intention.

Grief, Memory, and Gentle Remembrance Coloring Page

4. Grief is Love With Nowhere to Go

For anyone mourning a mother or maternal bond, this page offers a quiet space to honor your grief. Angel wings and floral details surround the words—a reminder that love doesn’t disappear, even when the person we love is gone.

Whether you choose to color these pages in silence or while journaling, listening to music, or reflecting—may they give you permission to honor your story on this day.

You Deserve to Feel Seen

This small collection is available as downloadable, printable coloring pages—so you can use them however and whenever you need. You can print them on paper, color them digitally, or gift them to someone else who might need a gentle moment of connection.

💛 View the Mother’s Day Coloring Bundle Here

However you feel this Mother’s Day, may you know that your experience is valid, and you are worthy of love, comfort, and peace—especially from yourself.