Tag: mothering

Tomorrow we celebrate Mother’s Day. There are so many days set aside now to remember. You name something, and there is a day for it. A very quick internet search told me that Monday, May 15th is Nylon Stockings Day. I don’t think anyone calls them that anymore, and wearing them is a trial, but there is a day set aside for that. Tomorrow is also Chicken Dance Day. Another fun day to celebrate. Our children and I actually learned this dance to share at our local nursing home a few years ago. Our youngest daughter loved it, but I don’t think her siblings thought it was such a great idea. Saturday, May 20th is, Be a Millionaire Day. That might be fun to try on for a while. But as I said before, if you name it, there is a day for it.

All of that is rather fun, but I fear that days such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Grandparent’s Day will get lost in the shuffle. And yes, there is a Children’s Day, but as I always told our children, every day is your day. You don’t have to go to work, your housing and food is provided, and you have terrific parents…so every day is your day! Enjoy! They didn’t think much of that either.

I think Mother’s Day is a special day, and all of us mother’s have a list of what we think would be great for Mother’s Day. Here is a little video giving just a short version of some lists mothers may have. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVuqj0BZIGo I think any mother can probably relate to several points made here.

When I was expecting our first baby, I was about two months along for my first Mother’s Day. I was really excited about it. A day just for me…maybe some chocolate, flowers, etc. My husband was in the Air Force Reserves back then and of course he had his weekend away that first Mother’s Day for me. After feeling a bit sorry for myself, I had a great ending to that day with the return of my husband, and I know he probably brought me flowers, because he always did for special occasions.

Thinking back on that day, I smile, because I didn’t have a clue of what I was celebrating, and I hadn’t even really earned the right to wear the Mother Badge at that point in time. Being sick every, single, day for four months didn’t really count. After I delivered our 9 lb. 6 oz. daughter, three weeks late after several days of labor, I was beginning to have a clue. Along came our second, then our third, fourth and fifth. Every one with the four months of misery. Thankfully the hours of labor lessened with each one!

But delivering a baby isn’t the only aspect of being a mother, and it’s not the most important one. Because you can be a mother without delivering a baby. And that is why I believe we should celebrate Mother’s Day.

My first Mother’s Day back in May of 1987 was very special to me, but with each succeeding one, they became even more precious. The flowers and cards are always appreciated. The chocolate is anticipated. Breakfast in bed or on the way to church would be lovely, or lunch afterwards just as delicious. Jewelry, new clothes, a manicure…all great gifts. But I think any mother would say that the day is made special by the children that made her a mother.

I look back on all those years. The years that seemed as though they would take forever to end when the children were sick and up all night. The years of preparing meals, all day long, the loads, and loads, and loads of laundry. The little squabbles that irritated me, and all the questions asked. I can look back, but all of that fades into a blurry haze, and what emerges is the memory of rocking each child to sleep at night. The stories read, the times of singing when we all did the dishes, and the little squabbles that ended with hugs.

Those years are what make a mother. Those years that flew by more swiftly than I ever thought they would.

Happy Mother’s Day to our three daughters that are now mothers. I wish each of you the same fulfillment and love that I have experienced being your mother. It’s because of our five children that I can wear the Mother’s Badge.