I love the mothers in my life, a lot...

A Short Rant, I promise: Although I regret I am a consumer worthy of John Bugas' (of Ford Motors) praise, I have always been bothered by the commercialization of holidays. Plastic Santas, frilly boxes of inedible chocolates, expensive Halmark cards for ANY occasion, each have made me rant more than those around me like. But I love wood greens on a banister and an evergreen tree lit by real candles, homemade love letters, sweet kindness on special days... I love the sentiment, I hate when other's profit from my sentiment with cheap disposable product...

Founders: So I was happy to read that the founder of Mother's Day was equally angered by the commercialization of her efforts. She wanted expressions of gratitude for mothers. She wanted honor offered at a time that women were really starting to push for more public recognition of their worth. She wanted the unconditional relationships to be acknowledged and valued. Here is the Wikipedia entry:

The modern American holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, which now holds the International Mother's Day Shrine.^[6] Her campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her beloved mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Anna's mission was to honor her own mother by continuing work she started and to set aside a day to honor mothers, "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world". Anna's mother, Ann Jarvis, was a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.

In 1908, the US Congress rejected a proposal to make an official holiday, among jokes that they would have to proclaim also a "Mother-in-law's Day".^[7] Due to the campaign efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all US states observed the holiday, with some of them officially recognizing Mother's Day as a local holiday,^[7] the first in 1910 being West Virginia, Jarvis' home state. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation creating Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.^[8]

Although Jarvis was successful in founding Mother's Day, she soon became resentful of the commercialization and was angry that companies would profit from the holiday. By the early 1920s, Hallmark and other companies started selling Mother's Day cards. Jarvis became so embittered by what she saw as misinterpretation and exploitation that she protested and even tried to rescind Mother's Day. The holiday that she had worked so hard for was supposed to be about sentiment, not about profit.^[9] Jarvis' intention for the holiday had been for people to appreciate and honor mothers by writing a personal letter, by hand, expressing love and gratitude, rather than buying gifts and pre-made cards.^[10] Jarvis organized boycotts and threatened lawsuits to try to stop the commercialization. She crashed a candymakers' convention in Philadelphia in 1923. Two years later she protested at a confab of the American War Mothers, which raised money by selling carnations, the flower associated with Mother's Day, and was arrested for disturbing the peace.^[9][10]

So...

Kat and Baby W, 2002

Dear Mom and Kat,

You are both amazing. Our families revolve around you; so much boy-power floating around, and so much tolerance from you.

I do not always behave around you. I forget my respect on "normal" days in moments of familiarity. The openness and comfort sometimes spills into rudeness and impatience. I am sorry.

I can tell you anything. I tell you everything. Sometimes I am sorry for that.

Mom and family, 1984

Kat and M, 2005

I wouldn't be the person I am without you; I wouldn't even be here, physically, functionally, wholly.

Jon, Toph, Walker, Maya, Me all owe a debt for the nurture, worry, unconditional love. Thank you.

I often count my blessings, list my gratitudes, remind myself of my fortune. You are always in my thoughts. I would like to say how "lucky" I am, but it feels less like "luck" and more like "love" that I am the constant recipient of. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

-metta metta
-peter