Brunch. Hallmark cards. Flowers. Hugs. Kisses. Pictures. Car-washing.
Dinner. Mother’s Day…What
is it? On the outside a seemingly
arbitrary day set aside to honor our mothers, grandmothers, and wives (one day
maybe…), but in reality so much more.
On
Mother’s Day, household roles shift.
364 days a year my mom toils around the house, making dinner, doing laundry,
cleaning (on top of her job and countless volunteer projects). One day a year, mom sits in bed while
we make her breakfast, and wash her car.
For one day a year, she sits back, relaxes, and watches us do the dirty
work for a change. We buy her cute
cards, take her out to a fancy dinner, and treat her with the utmost respect
and cordiality.
But
why is this day so important? What
is it about the second Sunday in May that brings out our best manners and
appreciation? In the end, the
answer is pretty boring. The idea
of Mother’s Day has been around a long time, but it wasn’t until Woodrow Wilson
declared it a National Holiday in 1914 that it became popular in the United
States.
Since
then, Mother’s Day has become one of the most commercialized holidays, amongst
the leaders in card and flower sales.
In fact, many dismiss the day as another consumer scam. Regardless, I would argue that our
reasoning behind Mother’s Day isn’t even that important.
I
don’t care how much money Hallmark makes on Mother’s Day each year. I don’t care how many flowers are
sold. I don’t care how many
long-distance phone calls are made.
There’s something oddly touching about honoring our mothers for no
particular reason. The truth is
that we shouldn’t need a reason to go out of our way for our mothers. If a quiet Sunday with brunch and
flowers makes my mom happy, then that’s certainly good enough reason for me.
So,
to all those moms out there: Happy Mother’s Day. You deserve it.
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