I’ve always found Mother’s Day to be an odd celebration: equal parts guilt and consumerism seasoned with sentimentality, ambivalence or remorse, depending on family history or situation. In North America, it’s the biggest sales day for restaurants and florists and, I suspect it’s a winner for Hallmark Cards, too. However, unlike Grandparent’s Day, Mother’s Day was not created by a card company.
In the US, Mother’s Day has it’s roots in the Civil War1 care of Julia Ward Howe, the same woman who penned the Battle Hymn of the Republic. It took Howe and two other determined women, Anna Reeves Jarvis and her daughter Anna M. Jarvis to fight for national adoption. It was signed into national observance in 1914 by Woodrow Wilson, though as early as 1909, 46 states as well as parts of Canada and Mexico were holding Mother’s Day services.
Growing up in a secular household, we never went to a Mother’s Day service but we did make school crafts to bring home for Mother’s Day — little clay pinch pots, pipe cleaner bouquets, handprint cards and similar things. That tradition continues today; Kiddo presented me with a large handmade card complete with a haiku and a paper doll of me inside.
When Mike asked me what I wanted for Mother’s Day I said, “nothing.” When he asked what I wanted to do I said, “nothing.” I accidentally got just that. We went out for brunch this morning with my Mother-in-law and some friends then my sinuses got the better of me. I took some Motrin sinus medication and within a few minutes of getting home, I was out cold for the better part of three hours. I guess the “non-drowsy” copy on the box is just a suggestion. I’ve spent the balance of my afternoon crafting (beading) and writing (this blog post and some restaurant reviews), accompanied by a big mug of tea.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms who read this blog (including mine — hi Mom!) and for those of you who are not moms or who are missing their moms, thanks for putting up with this day in celebration of motherhood.
1More info than you needed on this page of Mother’s Day History
Sometimes, nothing is exactly what is called for. Happy Mother’s Day CHeryl.