But seriously, happy Mother’s Day
My wife has had a pretty tough month. We’ve both had a busy time at work, and she’s been sick with a whole series of contagious diseases. But through it all, she’s put our daughter first. Because that’s just what you do.
We’ve both been very lucky to have my mother-in-law with us for the past week. It’s good to see her at the best of times, because we only get to do it once or twice a year, but this week she’s been a rock. And of course, we can always count on my own mother to step in whenever we need a little help. Because again, that’s just what you do.
Later today, before my mother-in-law flies back to the UK, we’re all getting together to celebrate Mother’s Day. It’ll be three of the best moms I know at the same table, and that’s pretty tough to beat. My daughter’s got three grandmothers, and we’ve pledged to get them all together on some future Mother’s Day. We’ll miss the third today, but we’re glad and grateful that those of us who are here can get together.
You’re going to hear a lot of clichés today, and a whole lot of talk about fake Hallmark holidays, and that’s a bit of a shame. For one thing, Mother’s Day actually has an impressive history with roots in the anti-war movement. But more importantly, the sentiment at the heart of it deserves much more than an annual acknowledgment. We all know that being a mom is a tough job, but we still don’t fully recognize, on a cultural level, just how tough that job is.
I mean, not to get all “you’ll understand when you have kids” about it, but it’s true. Before I became a parent, I had a pretty good sense that motherhood was a really difficult job. I understood it academically, as a fact. What the daily routine of parenting does is give you a deeper, much more visceral understanding, not just of how hard women like my wife work today, but of how hard women like my mom and my mothers-in-law had to work back then.
And yeah, being a dad is tough, too. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, it’s not as tough as being a mom. At the very least, it’s not tough in the same range of ways. Besides, if we want to pat ourselves on the back, I’m sure we can wait until June.
In the meantime, happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, grandmothers, and even the mothers to be. Thank you, sincerely, for the whole lot of it. Even if it’s just what you do.
Posted in Friends and Family