What Mother’s Day Is Really About

It’s Mother’s Day “weekend.” I say weekend because for some moms it really does become a weekend celebration. This Mother’s Day I feel like I have finally gotten the right perspective on what it’s all about.

You see, I used to feel very sorry for myself. I would hear stories from friends and acquaintances how they were surprised by diamonds or the house being cleaned or thoughtful poems being written. They would get breakfast in bed and be waited on throughout the weekend. It didn’t happen like that it in my house. In fact, if I didn’t constantly remind my children that it was Mother’s Day it could just sail right by with no one noticing. Of course, no one that is but me.

There were many times that Mother’s Day would get me down. I had all these expectations and I wanted my family to meet them. I felt unappreciated and would sometimes get very angry at my family. I would wonder how it was that I ended up with such a family as this.

Well this weekend is like every other. My husband who works as a manager at a grocery store will be working all weekend. My children who are 11, 12 and 16 have been going about their business. I spent today making homemade apple pie, homemade banana bread and a nice meat ‘n potatoes dinner. I have washed the dishes three times, done three loads of laundry and swept the house twice. No one offered to help. At one time I would have sulked my way through it all and possibly even thrown a tantrum. Not this Mother’s Day.

You see, I decided that it’s up to me to make this Mother’s Day weekend what I want it to be. Yes, I was very busy today but I did something different, I wore my pajamas all day long. In between the chores, the baking and the cooking I curled up in my bed and caught up on some reading. Tomorrow I plan on enjoying our church service, coming home and watching movies all day. My children may or may not join me but I am not going to let that stop me from celebrating my day.

You might be wondering what fun there is in that. I guess it’s all a matter of how you look at things. My husband has a job and a decent paying one that allows me to work from home as a freelance writer. We are all healthy. My children are great kids who don’t give me any trouble, do well in school and bring me such great joy. I have the luxury of being able to wash the dishes and their clothes because I live in a nice home with the amenities available to do that. I live in a free country. I am breathing air.

I choose to look at the blessings of my life. Why spend time looking for things to complain and fuss about? There are women who would love to be in my shoes—women who have tried to have children and month after month are disappointed when that pregnancy test reveals it hasn’t happened. They would love to be able to wash their children’s dishes.

There are other mothers who have lost their children in death. They can no longer hold them in their arms. They would love to be able to wash their clothes again. No, I don’t need breakfast in bed. I don’t need someone to clean my house. I don’t need a diamond or a poem. The joy I find in this Mother’s Day is when I look around at all that I have been blessed with.

May you find blessing in discovering what Mother’s Day is really about.