Most everyone realizes that Mother’s Day is a holiday that
was started by some smart merchandisers, as was Father’s Day. Even though we
know that, it still feels good to be acknowledged. Mothers work hard raising
their kids. It’s not that they don’t deserve to be celebrated. For people who
have lost their mothers, or for parents who have lost a child, it can be a
painful reminder. It can be a little bit like New Year’s Eve – if you don’t
have a date, you don’t know what to do with yourself. Parents and children all
have different styles, which can sometimes lead to miscommunication. Here’s a
recent example:
Sitting around a card table a week before Mother’s Day, one
of the players said, “What are you doing for Mother’s Day?” One mother proudly
said that her children were coming in and taking her to their home in the
country for the weekend, where they were all going to have a glorious time.
Another said she had been invited to a large Mother’s Day brunch. A third
mother announced that her children were taking her to a hit Broadway show. The
fourth person was silent with a stony look on her face. “And what have you
planned?” they all chirped gaily. “Nothing,” was the reply.
The day before Mother’s Day, she received a call. “Hey mom,
what are you doing tomorrow?” “Nothing,” replied the mother, who had made
alternate plans just in case. “But it’s Mother’s Day!” the child said.
“Really?” said the mother, “I never thought you’d ask.” The child replied that
she’d been extremely busy and the mother testily answered “So have I.” The
family met the following day at a coffee shop and the mother was not smiling
sweetly. The daughter then produced flowers and a wonderful gift that she had
made and said, “Mom, we’ve spent the last ten Mother’s Days together. I don’t
want you to ever think about it again, just assume we’ll be together.” And that
was that. The stylistic difference in this particular family is that the mother
plans way ahead, while the daughter seems to be a spur-of-the-moment kind of person.
It gets complicated when our grown children marry and there
are two mothers to consider. Some solve this by each child going with their own
parent. Some split the day, seeing one mother for lunch and one for dinner. A
happier solution is to blend the two families and spend the day together. No
matter how it’s worked out, mothers like to be acknowledged. Happy (belated)
Mother’s Day!
