May 15th, 2017

Happy Monday ya'll.  I had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday and I hope that either you did too, and/or you made someone's else's Mother's Day special.  I got beautiful flowers and lovely cards and taken out for breakfast and dinner. We went on our first excursion to the movies since we've lived here. (We saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2! I loved it!)  I also got some very special phone calls and texts which just made my day absolutely Perfect. 

Mother's Day is observed in more than forty countries around the world (although it may be on a different day)  In the U.S. Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908 thanks to Anna Jarvis whose mother, a Civil War Nurse, inspired her to campaign for a nationally official day to celebrate Mother's everywhere in our country. Although the day was not a federally recognized holiday until 1914, every individual states was celebrating the day by 1911.  Mother's Day cards hit the racks  in stores just a few years later followed by candy companies and any other retailer who could find a way to connect their product with the day.

Ironically, Anna Jarvis, the woman who started it all in the USA, was not at all happy about the commercialization of what she felt should be more of a sentimental day.   She wanted it to be more personal, more about appreciation and honouring mothers and less about buying gifts and spending money.  She felt so strongly about this that by 1923 she protested at a candy makers convention in Philadephia. She protested again in 1925 at the Amercian War Mothers who were selling carnation to raise money.  This time Anna was arrested for "disturbing the peace".  She spent the remainder of her life trying to have Mother's Day removed from the Nationally Observed Days calendar.

The celebration of Mothers in general of course goes way back to ancient Greeks and Romans who held festivals in honour of the Mother Goddesses.  But, throughout history, there is seen evidence of the reverence for the institution of motherhood.  Basically, we all know that our moms are important, even if we don't necessarily remember to say it or show it on a daily basis.  Which is why we have that one day a year to remind us to say it.

While I always, in some way, made a big deal out of the day for my Mom while she was still around, with flowers, visits, baked goods,  phone calls and gifts, I think the gift she always appreciated the most was just me spending time with her.  By the time I was an adult, grown and gone and living my own life, I didn't live nearby and therefore didn't see her as often as she would have liked.  When I did visit, I brought other people with me. People she loved, especially the little ones, but I think she missed spending time with just me.  Looking back, I could see that in her eyes on the rare occasion that it was just the two of us together.  I probably should have made it a point to do more of that.

Speaking as a Mother, my thanks to everyone who helped in any way to make me feel special and appreciated on Mother's Day.  I personally am not the sort of person who needs Big Gestures.  For me, it really is about the little things. That's is how I feel special.

I hope the Mother in your life felt special too.