Mother’s Day, first celebrated in 1908, was started as a sentimental honor that soon went very commercial. In fact the founder, Anna Jarvis tried to rescind the holiday about ten years later when she saw how companies just wanted to profit from the day. Honestly that’s how the day feels to me. I do want the love shown to me by my children, but I don’t like how they are manipulated into buying and spending money, whether they can afford it or not. The day becomes a holiday for everyone and in turn has lost it’s meaning. The clerk at the store wishes me a Happy Mother’s Day, the person checking me out at the cafeteria cash register, I fully would expect a policeman writing a ticket to wish me a Happy Mother’s Day!
It just makes me sad for those who no longer have loved ones with them to hear the phrase Happy Mother’s Day from strangers. Strangers that do not know the circumstances. The day must be close to unbearable for them. My heart aches especially for Oleta, who will face her first Mother’s Day without Kathy who passed away last summer after a deadly and quick bout with melanoma. My heart also aches for Janet for lost her beautiful daughter to a car crash fifteen months ago. Mother’s Day will never be the same for them and I hope those meaningless platitudes from strangers don’t wrench at their heart each time they hear them. Unfortunately my two friends are just two that come to mind, just think of the mothers you know that are not able to celebrate with their loved ones.
Maybe I’m just strange, but I don’t want complete strangers wishing me a Happy Mother’s Day, they don’t know my status and said to the wrong person can only bring hurt and pain to those no longer able to celebrate with family members.
