Today is the day we celebrate our mothers by showering them with cards, gifts, flowers and a meal of sorts, whether it’s breakfast in bed or a trip to a restaurant to celebrate her fabulousness. I am a mother to 2 beautiful teenage daughters and 3 cats but feel mother’s day is every day. Where are the cards and flowers after the numerous nights of us getting up with sick children and struggling to go into the workforce and do a job for 8 hours after getting little to no sleep? 
Where are the special meals for us when we’re sick but still provide all of our children’s needs throughout the year without complaint? Where’s our jewelry when we mourn the loss of our child either to death or just moving out and on with their own lives? All we do cannot be summed up in just one day of pampering because it is a 24/7 job we receive no financial pay for but relish the rewards we receive from seeing the smiles on our children’s faces and watching them grow into successful, respectful and responsible adults.
This day originally started with the tradition of returning to one’s “mother church” on the 4th Sunday of Lent, then moved to “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children. Years later, it became “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation. In 1905, after the death of her mother, Ann Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. She had originally conceived of Mother’s Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation as a badge and visiting one’s mother or attending church services. But once Mother’s Day became a national holiday, it was not long before florists, card companies and other merchants capitalized on its popularity.
We are mothers every day of our lives, regardless if our children have grown up and left the nest or gotten their wings to sit alongside our Heavenly Father. I am honored to be acknowledged on this day but, like Valentine’s Day, I believe it’s become too commercialized and is something which should be acknowledged every day of the year, not just when Hallmark® tells you to buy your mom a card and flowers. Is a mother not worthy of flowers on a Tuesday due to all she does each and every day? 
A mother is a mother regardless if she is sick or tired, she does what she does for the betterment of her children each and every day. The laundry doesn’t just get washed today nor do my children only eat one day a year, why should we not be celebrated each and every day?
Just like the aforementioned V-Day being a hard day to get thru when you’re single or suffering a heartbreak, this holiday is hard on those who’ve lost their mother and see others celebrating with theirs who are still here. I have not lost my mother but I have lost a parent and Father’s Day will be extremely hard for me as it is for those who have lost their mothers. For those who have lost their moms, today is one of the hardest and saddest days of the year because there is nothing like the sound of your mother’s voice, the reassuring and comforting touch of her hand, or even the smell of her perfume.
Today is also hard on those who have lost a child because, although other loved ones will shower them with gifts, nothing can ever replace the love and presence of your child by your side, handing you a card they picked out themselves. It is hard to watch others celebrate and be celebrated when the void within your heart from the loss of your loved one is exemplified today. This day is also hard on the women who were never blessed to feel life growing within her womb for one reason or another. Every woman desires to have a child somewhere deep within her soul but says she never wanted children because it was easier to deal with that than admit it would never come to fruition.
Last year, I wrote about women celebrating and claiming Father’s Day for themselves because they felt they had been both mother and father for their children and, unfortunately, I’ve seen just the opposite take place today with single father’s being acknowledged on Mother’s Day. Please don’t get it twisted, I respect single fathers and all they do for and with their children but they can never understand what it’s like to be a mother. A man will never grasp what it’s like to try to get some rest with a little foot poking thru your rib cage as your baby tries to find a comfortable position. 
Nor will a man ever experience morning sickness, watching their body be totally transformed and feel disfigured to bring life forward into this world. No man will ever feel the pain of watching the baby who was just pulled from their body struggle to live on a table in the delivery room. Yes, I understand men love and adore their children, I would never discredit them in that area but they will never understand all we go thru to make sure these blessings arrive safe and sound outside of the womb. Just as we give honor and praise to the dad’s on their day in June, we should show the same respect to mothers in May.
Whenever I was at odds with my mother, it would upset my father because he lost his mother, who was also his best friend, when I was young and never fully got over that loss. He would always tell me, “You only get one mother. Do whatever it takes to make it right and get back on good terms with her”. Being strong minded, willed and determined just like my mother, this has not always been an easy task and many years have been lost due to both of our bull headedness, I own that 100%. The relationship with my mother is not perfect by a long shot but there is no perfect parent/child relationship, you do what works best for all involved and love them unconditionally.
Yes, Queens, this is the day dedicated in some form or fashion to celebrate who and all we are but understand you are great and appreciated every day you open your eyes. 
My daddy taught me years ago, a female doesn’t have to have given birth to be celebrated as a mother and made me buy my sister cards when we were just teenagers. There are women who are mothers to fur babies or those who have stepped in to help raise another’s child who should also be celebrated on this day. Being a mother has nothing to do with giving birth, it has to do with showing unconditional love, nurturing, guidance, and care for another human being who needs you as a role model. We are not just to be celebrated on this one day, call your mother just to say “Hi” or “I love you”, send her a card on a Thursday because she was on your mind, visit her gravesite on a day other than a holiday or birthday. Always honor, cherish and respect your mother for she is the reason you are here and who you are not just on this commercially glamorized ‘holiday’.