Namaste_Heather

Disclaimer:  I thought I posted this yesterday, before my rush out the door to get M to her Double Header.  Apparently I did not, but didn’t want it to go to waste, so enjoy.  I will be posting later on another topic.

Today, I’m wishing a Happy Mother’s Day . . .

to all of my mom friends and to a few others most of us wouldn’t think of.

Mother’s Day, like most American holidays began as a religious event and evolved over time.  Eventually in the U.S., it was declared as a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson.  Most countries celebrate Mother’s Day or Mothering Sunday as a long standing tradition, although on different days during the year. Visit Wipikedia to learn more about the history of Mother’s Day.

Like most American holidays, its become commercialized.  Buy this or that for mom, and by all means DO get her a card that she will throw away. I started evaluating (as I so often do) what Mother’s Day really means to me.  (By the way, I did NOT purchase my mother a card.  In fact, I never buy cards.  Instead, I visited her and gave her a beautiful flowering basket from a local vendor at the Farmer’s Market.)

Photo Image from Flickr

What does it mean to be a mother?

Is it giving life?

Yes, but so much more.

I texted my mom, mother-in-law, and all of my mom friends this morning, then started thinking. . . what about all of those other friends of mine who don’t or haven’t had children of their own, but have been nurturing, mothering types.  Being a mom isn’t just giving birth or adopting a child.  It is being there, listening, nurturing, caring, holding, helping, loving no matter what.

How many mothers take being a mother for granted?  I am so grateful to have been given the beautiful gift of a child of my own.  It is the greatest gift ever.  On this Mothers Day, be grateful if you have been given the same gift, and thank the mothers and mother-types in your life.  Mothering is a universal gift from a power greater than us.  Think about it symbolically.  Think about all of the mothers (in this sense of the word) who have gone before us.  They are in us.  They are all part of us.

And to go one step further, think about our greatest mother, Mother Earth.  What mother gives more unconditionally than her?  She is a gift to all of us that we so often take for granted.  As you enjoy this beautiful day, find a way to also thank Mother Earth for all of the gifts she gives to us each day . . . sunshine, warmth, gentle breezes, nourishing rain, peaceful snowfalls, all that is necessary to allow us to live here and enjoy our lives.

Happy Mother’s Day.  Enjoy it to it’s fullest.  It is truly a gift.