Is it really Mothers Day?

No brekkie in bed for me this morning. No eggs and bacon, no burnt toast and cold tea served to me as I lounge like a Queen under the covers for an extra hour or two longer.

Not today.

It's another day.

A beautiful, simple, theres'-work-to-do day.

I sit here drinking HOT tea which I've made with my own hand (and which is entirely preferable under most circumstances), and have been reading up on the history of Mother's Day.

Some say that this day is a commercial excuse for people to shop and buy stuff. Yeah! I can go with that. But I DO rather enjoy receiving gifts and if the family won't buy me any, then I usually make it an excuse to buy something I would like to have. This year, it's a webcam and a VoIP headset (I am so excited :)).

But what do mothers themselves really think of Mothers Day?

Well, here's what I think - because I'm a Mum, so I feel qualified to give my 2c. :)

It's a kind of a longing really. A wistful longing to be recognised and appreciated and to have that not taken for granted feeling. To know that what I do and why I do it is as important in the greater scheme of things to the members of my family as it is to me.

I would love to have a day where I could just do what I wanted to do for myself. I am prone to these bouts of complete selfishness but because I'm in that in between age of nurturing two different generations, my children and my parents, I find that Mothers Day for me is more about working for the recognition of others than for myself. It's not a holiday as such, it's a day of duty in appreciating the work of other Mothers.

So I haven't ever really thought of Mothers Day applying to myself. It's simply just another day, another task to be done, another meal to attend to, another person to acknowledge. The latter is however the sweetest thing of all. Acknowledging the work of other Mothers is perhaps why this day is valuable despite all the commercialism. It's a good thing to tell other women that they truly are appreciated and needed. It's a good thing to demonstrate the depth of our love and thankfulness for their unwavering contribution to our needs. It's a good thing to be demonstrative in our affection and shower our Mum's with simple gifts of time, appreciation, goods, food and sympathy.

My 20 year old God-daughter gave birth to her first child this past week. Her baby girl is now bound to her heart, body, mind and soul for the rest of her days. No matter what happens, where her new baby daughter goes, who she grows to become, what she does, who she does it with, my God-daughter is going to feel everything her child does as keenly as if it was happening to herself. Maybe my God-daughter will finally now begin to understand her own mothers anguish these past few years for the wild ride she has given her! :) Who knows.

But for today, it's her very first Mother's Day. She has become a fully paid up member of this special club and her work will now, never end - even on Mothers Day.