Mother's Day

May 10, 2015 was Mother's Day.  Friends posted Mother's Day greetings on Facebook, my Whatsapp group chats were filled with Mother's Day wishes, and my crusty neighbour handed over a block of cake which he'd bought to celebrate Mother's Day with his mom.

Mother's Day is a wonderful thing, when kids who normally give their mothers headaches behave themselves, take their moms out to restaurants and give them presents.  But why?

Why is today, or any day, for that matter, Mother's Day? Isn't everyday Mother's Day?  Why are moms special for one day of the year?  Why do children remember and treat their moms especially well on Mother's Day?  And who determined that May 10, or any day, for that matter, is Mother's Day?  After all, it's your mother, shouldn't you decide when to honour your mother?

Does mom have to wait for today to anticipate special treatment by the children?  Does she have to wait for today for demonstrations of affection and special gifts?  Why?  Isn't your mom special to you everyday of the year, for imperfect though she may be, she is your mother, and probably loves you more than anyone else in the world.

Mother's love, as they say.... the newspapers carry stories about Mother's wishes - how one mother wishes to see her son, who has been missing all these years, how another wishes her son will stop his gambling habit, and how another wants to see her daughter married.

For one, I've never subscribed to a special day for Mother's day, Father's Day, or my birthday, for that matter.  Everyday is special, or no day is special, or is it simply that in the hurlyburly of everyday living, that we need to be reminded, one day of each year, that mom is special?  And isn't that just so sad....?