Dear Mothers…
This post goes
out to all the women in my life who are mothers, including my own. It’s for my
closest friends who are mothers; but also for my neighbours; acquaintances; ex-students;
future mothers, new mothers, old mothers, grandmothers, adoptive mothers; mothers
I‘ve worked with; and all those other amazing women with children who have
passed through my life at some point or another. I even dedicate this to those
rare fathers here and there who are actually more of a mom than a dad most of
the time…
What I want to
tell you is… I’m sorry, but this year I’m not going to wish you a Happy
Mother’s Day.
Thing is, it’s
only the Friday before, and I’m already sick and tired of the whole thing. I could
do without the noise pollution that seems to go hand-in-hand with commercial
success, in this case the commerce in unnecessary and cheap products that for
some reason people think are related with Mothers Day. I’m not very excited to
see the stores fill up with the cheapest of the cheapest and mostly useless
objects, primarily in the colour red and for that reason somehow related to
Mother’s Day.
I would be
happier not to find a bunch of
invitations to special Mother’s Day dinners at local restaurants in my inbox; and
I’m seriously considering to boycott Facebook until Monday.
I have nothing
against Mother’s Day in itself. But I think that celebrating Mother’s Day once
a year with a plastic rose, a cheap lunch package and a handmade gift by son or
daughter (likely the same as last year) is just not enough.
I don’t have kids
and am very happy about it. It’s not that I don’t like kids, actually I do, a
lot, I just don’t like them all the
time!!! Not being a mother has been a conscious decision, one that I’ve
never regretted. But that doesn’t mean I tremendously admire women who are mothers, especially the ones that
have managed not to kill their offspring!!! Seriously, how do you do it??? I
can barely manage a job and a household, so how to deal with a partner and a bunch
of kids on top???? I find it truly amazing how women manage to deal with it
all, especially the women in Honduras,
who do not have the same resources and opportunities as women have in my home
country. I’ve seen incredible women single-handedly raise a dozen or so while
making the world go round. What I’m talking about here is women cultivating
their own land, hauling water at the creek, grinding corn every day and still
manage to send her kids to school. Amazing and admirable.
So, no Happy
Mother’s Day from me, this Sunday. But instead, I promise to honour, respect
and admire you every single day for the rest of the year and the years to come.
For every day you get up; for every night you go to bed exhausted; for every
day you feed and educate your children; for every day you give them love, even
though you’re not always loved the way back as you should be. For every day you
worry and wish them well… I respect and honour you for doing what needs to be
done, and doing it so well, even if you didn’t ask for it. Mothers of the
world, but especially those from Honduras: you’re truly amazing.
Always. 365 Days a year!
PS: For my gals
who happen not to be mothers, wanna
go out and get drunk on Sunday??? J
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