Yes, we already had Mother's Day back in March, my mum was so thrilled with the special 'letterbox flowers' I sent. They were a bargain too with a discount haha so that was a win.
My mum has been a staunch friend to me throughout my life in *almost* everything. So it seems only natural now that I should do all I can to ensure she feels cared for and loved in whatever time remains. It's a worry, not gonna lie. She talks of falling as if it's an inevitability and when an older person falls it can sadly signal the beginning of the end.
I'm gearing myself up to possibly having to go down there if things take a turn for the worse. At least I could make sure she has the necessary care and help in place for once and for all (since it's hard to achieve at this distance). Staying with her and my son (who shuns and ignores me), having no privacy, dealing with a moth infestation(ugh) is not an experience I look forward to but of course my love for her will overcome that.
Motherhood in general is sentimentalised to an unbearable degree by the Mother's Day industry. Marginalising even more those who either don't have a mother in their lives or have a poor relationship with theirs. It's like Valentine's Day for the unhappily single.
I'd go further and say that the degree to which motherhood is sanctified by our society/culture/religion also marginalises many women who like me, don't or can't identify with the stereotype or for whatever reason have a troubled relationship with their offspring. Trust me maternal guilt is a real literal motherfucker. You don't know sorrow till you see your child suffer the same agonies you didā¦or worse. And feel responsible because the buck stops with you however little choice you ever had in the matter. A man can walk away and often does. A woman, not so much.
Just my reflections, for US Mother's Day.
