golfkat Travel Blog

I know we all celebrate Mother’s Day when we try to make our Moms and Grandmothers feel extra special.  My Mom is now 85, so I know the Mother’s Day celebrations remaining can be counted on one or two hands.  Both of my Grandmothers lived into their 90s, but are no longer living.  I know in my case, I owe them so much, for coming to a strange country, marrying a stranger via arranged marriage, and trying to cope with a new and different world.

But did you know that Mother’s Day was promoted by a woman named Anna Jarvis?  She was born in West Virginia, and on May 12, 1907, two years after he mother died, she held a memorial for her mother and embarked on a campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday.  It became nationally recognized as a holiday in 1914.  But she grew weary of the commercialization of Mother’s Day.  She and her sister spent their inheritance fighting against the holiday.  She died in poverty, embittered because too many people sent their mothers a printed greeting card!  She never married or had children.  She is buried in Bala Cynwyd, PA.

In most countries, Mother’s Day is a derivative of the U.S. holiday.  It was President Woodrow Wilson and Congress that created the law making it an official holiday.

Even when we cannot be with my Mother, we send a card, fresh flowers, funny email and a phone call.  I can never thank my Mom enough for all the things she has done for me.  In college, she would send me money for dates, gasoline, and “tea”.  She helped me get through Pharmacy School, and the loss of several girl friends.

When my Dad died at the young age of 51, I came home and lived with her until we got her estate settled.  My Dad had an auto parts and repair business, along with some farmland.  I was the oldest of four kids, while the youngest two were still in college.  I am sure my Mom had a tougher time than she ever let on to us.

Though Sheri has never been a Mom, she was so helpful and necessary for raising my kids, after we were married.  She never complained, and was always there to help them with homework, drive them to and from school, and attend parent functions at school.  She was more helpful to them than their real mother.

Though I am sure Anna Jarvis must be turning in her grave, I think the holiday serves to remind us of how important mothers are to us, and our country.  They hold an unbelievable amount of power in the household.  They control the spending habits of a nation.  They decide which stores survive, and which ones fail.

I think it is nice to see the restaurants full of families having a nice Mother’s Day brunch or dinner.  Or to see the family barbecue or picnic gathering for food and drink.  My message to Anna is to overlook the commercialization, and realize how lucky we are to have  a mother.  And to any of you Moms out there, alone on this special day, I salute you for everything you have done for your family, and for the world.

In remembering my dear Mom, she guided each of us in different ways.  She knew how to bring out the best in each of us, in different ways.  She helped me get to U.C. Berkeley, and to become a successful health professional.  Mostly, she helped me be a gentleman and a good person.

This year, 2020, we are sheltering in place, no big Mother’s Day celebration, at home or in restaurants.  It will be different.  But it should never diminished what these great women have done for us.  They gave us life!!!