Un Mother's Day

Don't get me wrong. I like Holidays but I don't really care for things that seem to me to be made up days.

Okay. It isn't a made up day. In the US Woodrow Wilson declared Mother's Day to be a National Holiday in 1914.
Anna Jarvis then spent years trying to abolish the Holiday because it became too commercialized. Her efforts failed and she died in 1948.

There is a lot more interesting history if you look up the History of Mother's Day. It even dates back to the Greek and Roman Era. I imagine it wasn't as commercialized as it is now. It probably included some sort of appreciation of a mom, a woman, and a fertile figure of some sort.

Now Mother's Day is a fanfare of marketing commercials. Restaurants are full on Sunday, flower shops and garden centers are mobbed. Card makers sell cards. I can recall trying to phone my mom many years ago [remember phones that you had to dial?] and getting a busy signal for the phone lines because they were overwhelmed by calls.

I let Mother's Day slide by now as my MIL is gone and I don't have to run out for cards and flowers to show my appreciation for her. I showed her my appreciation all year long by helping her out for years. Geographically we were close so it was easy to help her out. She was always grateful and kind to me. 

My own mother is alive and apparently well. She thrives on drama and I don't. Our last conversation ended quite badly as I apparently was quite busy with my husband's failing health and didn't bother to check up on her. I don't do guilt anymore and I don't try to make her happy.

She taught me well with her own mother-daughter relationship which was quite strained. Her family dynamics [big word for how everyone gets along] was and still is difficult to understand. 

Some mother - daughter relationships are toxic or difficult. That is just a fact. Our relationship has always been a bit strained and I tried so hard for many years to make her happy. 

I couldn't.

Do I love her? Of course. I have so many attributes that I have learned from her. Her incredible strength in the face of adversity. Her variety of skills are amazing. Cooking is not one I inherited. 

My husband used to ask what I wanted for Mother's Day. I would answer: Nothing. Just some time to do what I loved. Photography and Hiking, or riding.

I usually hear from my sons and that is plenty for me.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers: