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Being a mother is commemorated in the United States on the second Sunday in May and in the United Kingdom on the middle Sunday of Lent. Card-sending abounds, as does gift-giving. Restaurants are full to the brim with reservations, everyone intent on giving "Mother" the day off from the kitchen. Flower sales are brisk. Churches and other gatherings publicly recognize the mothers in their congregation or group. It's a widely-celebrated holiday.
For millions of women, Mother's Day is a painful reminder of what they long for and do not have: a child of their own. For them, a look at the concept of "mothering", and thoughts on exploring the concept within your own life, now, regardless of the physical presence of children in your family, but first, some history:
Did you know that the original idea for the holiday was as an anti-war campaign in 1858? Women united against the Civil War, the United State's bloodiest, and did so under the title of Mothers' Day for Peace until the turn of the century. Anna Jarvis, one of the day's creators, never had her own children but wanted to honor her own mother.
Knowing its pacifist beginnings makes it easier to feel that any woman should be able to feel celebrated during this time.
© Tracy Morris
