Growing up this was not a holiday we celebrated. First of all, in the UK, it is celebrated in March. Secondly, it just wasn’t such a huge hyped up holiday like it is here in North America.
Well, once I had kids I adopted the holiday. It’s not a religious holiday – and it’s so nice to have ONE day a year to be totally appreciated for ALL I do for these little people. When I was married to my kids’ dad he reminded them, bought them cards to sign, presents – he knew it was important to me. Once I became a single mom – well, no one was there to remind the kids that they needed to celebrate me. They certainly would not have been reminded in school.
If we were under the same roof as the KoD he for sure would be taking them in hand to do something special for me. He has already hinted at something that he is doing for me….
Last week I decided to start dropping hints to the boys.
Do you know what’s next Sunday?
No.
It’s a special day.
Oh really? Something to do with you and the KoD?
No….something to do with me and you and your brothers.
Hmmm. Oh yeah…..it’s Mother’s day. My Rebbe says we shouldn’t celebrate it, that every day is Mother’s Day.
I have heard that phrase so many times. Every day SHOULD be Mother’s day. We should appreciate our mothers every single day that they are with us. But the truth of it is that we do not. We take our mothers for granted. Our clothes are washed, our food is cooked, our booboos kissed, monsters chased from under the bed, birthday parties thrown, heartbreaks soothed….. The bills are paid and groceries are bought without us as kids even thinking about it. We outgrow shoes – we get taken to buy another pair. It’s what Moms do and as children, we do take it for granted.
But every day is NOT Mother’s Day. Occasionally the kids will do something that shows they appreciate our sacrifices, and that they have taken a second to consider all we do for them, but those moments are few and far between.
So, yes, I expect at least a card on Mother’s Day, something that shows me that my children have taken a moment to think about me, to think about all I do for them. Is that really so wrong? I think not.
And to my own Mum I say – Thank you for the gift of life, for all that you did for us and sacrificed for us when you were raising us. I know it wasn’t easy (even though we both know I was the perfect child 😉 ) and that you always put us first no matter what. I love you.
In the Pink 
” My Rebbe says we shouldn’t celebrate it, that every day is Mother’s Day.”
well then i guess we don’t need a special day (pesach) to thank hashem for yetzi’at mitzrayim, because we do this every day.
i await the rebbe’s response.
if he demurrs, then remind him that you pay tuition for your kids throughout the year and the rebbeim don’t need a special day to receive extra recognition with a chanukah gift.
Well said!!!!!!
LoZ – excellent points indeed!!
LOZ –
You took the words right out of my mouth!
YEAH!!!
I always ask for a “rain check” for the customary Mother’s day meal at a restaurant because the restaurants tend to be so crowded on that day.
One year, my husband needed to fly out to Denver that day to be there first thing on Monday morning for a business meeting. Instead of him trying to take a late flight, I had the bright idea of suggesting that he go in mid-day and take my cousin, who at that time was a single mom, and her son out to dinner for Mother’s Day. She was thrilled and appreciative. I felt she really deserved the special recognition because of how difficult things had been for her and how great a mom she was. She’s re-married now and I’m betting that even her teenaged step-daughters show her they care: one of them beautifully decorated their front walkway with chalk for my cousin’s birthday.
i love this post! i agree whole-heartedly that mother’s day is special and lovely and it also kind of bugs me when jews proclaim a holiday not celebration-worthy b/c seriously, people– we’re jews! we know exactly how to do it up right and well we should!! thanks for a great post.