Do You Celebrate Mother’s Day?

Personally, I think it’s good for us to celebrate every time we can.  And I think it’s good for us to celebrate Every Person we can!

And it’s good for us to Celebrate Life itself.  And one thing for sure—we wouldn’t have our life without our Mother.

Some people don’t have their mother’s on this earth anymore;

some people for one reason or another didn’t get to know their mother; some people I’ve heard things said like “My mother wasn’t a good mother”—or not a “nurturing” mother.

Then others seem to enjoy the “storybook” type of mother.

Some people are sad on “Mother’s Day”, not having their mother here with them, or having bad memories of their mother, for different reasons.

Life doesn’t always seem “fair”, that’s for sure.  And mothers are human, so—like all of us—they don’t always do what’s right, or may not KNOW what’s right, for one reason or another.

Again, I believe it’s good to celebrate all mothers, and to think about the good.

My mother loved my three sisters and myself.  She cooked for us, kept the house (and us) clean, and she taught us the importance being well behaved, being nice to people, and the importance of truth and integrity.  She also taught us that getting the family together every chance (she) could, was the way life should be.

Our home was not filled with affectionate words or actions.  I think there were a lot of homes that way back then.  That wasn’t the priority.  Living “right” seemed more of a priority, and making sure everyone was taken care of.

Years after that, it seems like the pendulum began to swing to being super affectionate to the children, even putting them on an unrealistic pedestal.  If I was choosing, I’d choose how I was raised.  There is a medium in there somewhere I’m sure, and I’m sure there are people who experienced it and were thankful for it.  I’m very thankful for growing up in the family I grew up in, and for my mother who seemed to be the glue that held everything together and kept things going in the right direction. (Not negatives for my father—just recognizing my mother)

Our job today is to love.  Love Everyone.  And Celebrate Everyone that you value in your life.  This is SO VERY IMPORTANT.

I have a lot of traits of my mother.  And so do you.  Let’s be thankful for our mothers, and love them, and celebrate them, whether they are still on this earth, or if they are not.  It does our heart good to do this.

Did you know Mother’s Day is celebrated all over the world?  It is.

Did you know that more phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year?  It is said that phone traffic spikes as much as 37%.

***********************************************************

Before the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to care for their children.  (Wow! What a Great thing that must have been!)

In 1868, she organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day” when mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation after the war.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe (who also wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic) wrote “The Mother’s Day Proclamation” asking mothers to unite in promoting world peace, and campaigned for a Mother’s Peace Day to be celebrated annually.

There was an early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday” as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children, and which had its first official Mother’s Day Celebration in a Methodist Church in West Virginia.  Later it began to shift into a more secular holiday.

Mother’s Day as we know it began in 1914 when Woodrow Wilson signed the measure officially establishing the 2nd Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.  Anna Jarvis is credited with starting the holiday.

A fact that many probably do not know is that Anna Jarvis, after launching this huge undertaking of getting Mother’s Day officially established (with the help of floral shops and confectioners), later denounced the commercialization of it.

Mrs. Jarvis launched many lawsuits against groups that used the name of Mother’s Day and eventually spent most of her personal wealth on legal fees.  By the time of her death in 1948, she had disowned the holiday altogether, and had actively lobbied the government to have it removed from the American calendar.

I do understand Mrs. Jarvis’s thinking a little bit with so much commercialism involved—as it is in many other holidays today.  However…

Ann Reeves Jarvis

Julia Ward Howe

Mother’s Day has survived, and is a day that we can feel good about celebrating.

Some never knew their real mother, or may possibly have never known their mother’s goodness.  But I think each of us has had someone in our lives that has influenced us to live a good life, and we can celebrate that person.

Did you know…

That strong, healthy relationships strengthen your immune system, help you recover from disease, and possibly lengthen your life?

It’s also proven that these relationships lower rates on anxiety and depression, and help you have higher self esteem, improving your quality of life?

With a lower risk of dementia and with lower risk of obesity, inflammation and high blood pressure?

Obesity, inflammation and high blood pressure are all three issues that can lead to long term health problems including heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.

That even if you live a healthy lifestyle, you still need active social relationships to stay well and happy?

So.  If you feel inclined, start with your mother.  This is a good time to start if you’re ready.  If you feel it is time to build your relationship bank, Start with your Mother, and spread out from there…. Connections truly matter.

So if you DO lack family connection, and if you’d like to improve your health by building some relationships, examples of how to start connections that could lead there are:

Start conversations with people you see occasionally, at the gym, on your walks, in the grocery store, etc.

Volunteer;

Join a civic group that focuses on something you like or could support;

Just try some things and see what feels good to you—with the idea of social connection to share your time and your experiences with other people, and also listen to them.  Both your mind and your body will be rewarded.  And so will your heart.

********************************************************

I will be spending Mother’s Day weekend with my daughter who lives out of town, this year.  No gifts are needed to make it a great day.  At our church every year, the men fix breakfast for the women, which is a lot of fun.  (And we have some men who are great cooks!)

If you want to celebrate Mother’s Day without buying gifts, your TIME is probably the most precious gift you can give.  Another is preparing a meal for her, or baking something for her.  Or organizing a family get-together in her honor, or planning a walk, or some outside family activity she would enjoy.

Whatever you do, spend your time and your energy celebrating this day by building relationships.  Family Relationships.  Or Adopted Family Relationships.  Or Friend or Mentor Relationships.  Let your heart be your guide. 

Sharon