I'm not a big fan of Mother's Day. As a matter of fact, I'd be fine if we just blew
right by it.
I enjoy most holidays, but Mother's and Father's Day, Valentine's Day, Grandparent's Day and Secretary's Day have always felt forced. A Hallmark Holiday. If you rebel against these holidays, you will hurt someone's feelings, even if it's the blatant consumerism—not the person being celebrated—you're rebelling against.
I love getting homemade cards and homemade presents from my children. I love receiving their works of art to hang on the refrigerator. I especially love that when my daughters begin to fight on that second Sunday of May, they stop and remind each other that they can't fight because, 'it's mom's special day.' They also will remind me the next day that it is not mom's special day anymore, so they are free to fight, to scream, to leave their rooms a mess. After all, I had my day in the sun and I'll have to wait another 364 days before I get another. It's time for me to move on. If I protest that they should appreciate me every day, they'll remind me how lucky I am to at least have one day. Poor kids get nothing. NOTHING!
The funny thing about Mother's Day is that even the woman who started the tradition hated what it turned out to be. In 1908, Anna Jarvis, a woman from Graton, West Virginia, created the day to honor her mother's wish for a holiday to celebrate American moms. She enlisted the help of John Wanamaker, a wealthy Philadelphia merchant who owned a chain of department stores. She relentlessly promoted the day until, in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared it an official national holiday.
But within a few years, the holiday had become so commercialized that Anna considered it a "Hallmark holiday." She died in 1948, saying she regretted ever starting the tradition.
Today, nearly 100 years since its creation, Mother's Day is one of the biggest days for sales of flowers and greeting cards. It is the biggest holiday for long-distance telephone calls. And restaurants? Forget it. If you haven't made your reservation by now, you're out of luck. Most restaurants are booked solid for breakfasts, brunch, lunch, buffets and dinners.
Me? I like to keep it low key. No big pink carnations pinned to my dress. No fancy
meals out. Just some homemade cards; a homemade meal; a few paintings for the
refrigerator; a moratorium on fighting, name calling and teasing.
And if my husband wants to pay homage to me with an expensive gift, well, Happy Mother's Day!