With poorly cut, heart-shaped posters clinging to the kitchen walls and the smell of a half-burnt breakfast polluting the air, my mother woke up every Mother’s Day as she had the year before: with a surprise waiting for her.
For me, Mother’s Day was a national holiday which required weeks of preparation. At school I would make decorations that I would then bring home and hide until it was time to unearth them. Then I would take stock of what was in the pantry and plan the morning of Mother’s Day meal.
In my mind, this “surprise” served as a sort of repayment for all the headaches and chaos I had caused my mother throughout the year. In retrospect, I suppose she deserved my weight in gold, but to a child this was good enough. Naturally, my mother rejoiced in this mini-celebration as she saw the dedication I put into the entire project and she would, as always, put on a brave face and finish the meal I put in front of her.
However, the older I got, the less attention I put on this holiday. My extravagant event planning eventually dwindled down into a card with some flowers. Then that small gift transformed itself into a simple early morning phone call.
Throughout the years, I have noticed that while many, such as myself, take the easy way out by calling or buying their mothers some flowers, we miss the bigger point behind the concept of Mother’s Day.
The fact of the matter is that mothers do not put in hard work and dedication into their children and family once a year. They work all day long, every day of the year, starting from the early hours of the morning until late at night. And it is because mothers sacrifice so much on a regular basis that we should take it upon ourselves to go beyond the confines of Mother’s Day and be proactive in cherishing our mothers on a daily basis.
We should not only cherish our mothers for blessing us with life, but also for all the time and sacrifices they have made on our behalf. Far too often we have a sense of entitlement when it comes to a mother’s nourishment, but the reality is that they owe us absolutely nothing.
Legally, they bear an obligation to us, but aside from giving birth to us they do not owe us anything. As a matter of fact, it is us who owe them for delivering us into the world and allowing us to stay in their womb for nine excruciating months.
Therefore, as this fabricated holiday rears its head, let us not only remember to love and respect our mothers on a daily basis, but to also pay tribute to all women who are mothers. Especially those living in impoverished regions such as Africa or Latin America who sacrifice their own health and well-being in order to sustain their children and families.
According to the World Health Organization, 800 women die on a daily basis because of pregnancy related issues (including child birth). Those numbers are highest among women who live in developing countries and rural areas.
The fact that a woman died holding a child within her depicts a tremendous amount of courage and braveness.
Furthermore, women carry a large burden on a daily basis throughout the world. Many of them are the sole bread winners in their hands. Particularly in the United States where the divorce rate is 50%, many women become mother and father overnights (as well as bread winner and supportive parent).
Their struggle is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
As such, their heroic efforts and supernatural abilities shouldn’t be praised once a day. Mother’s Day should not serve as a reminder to thank our mothers, but rather as an event which encourages us to acknowledge and rejoice on the devotion and sacrifices they’ve made on a daily basis.
