Card stores and flower shops are doing a brisk last-minute business, while in eating establishments everywhere, elaborate brunch menus are awaiting execution and staff are gearing up for the annual onslaught.
I'm talking about Mother's Day, of course -- a time to celebrate our moms and acknowledge all they've done for us over the years by showering them with gifts, eating fancy crepes and sipping mimosas. Or so it would seem.
Not that gifts, crepes and mimosas are bad things, mind you (or inappropriate to share with one's mother, for that matter). Rather, it's just unfortunate that Mother's Day, like most other North American holidays, has been co-opted by those out to make a buck, another victim of a culture in which rampant consumerism flourishes.
This is not to say that there's no value in the continued observance of Mother's Day. Far from it: Motherhood is a long, tough slog and, while not everyone excels at it, those who enter into it certainly deserve some respect.
Indeed, for all the progress we've made as a society with respect to breaking down traditional gender roles, the fact remains that women -- primarily mothers, but also grandmas, aunties and sisters -- continue to do the bulk of the work when it comes to raising kids. While I'm sure it's extremely rewarding on a personal level, it's also unpaid, relentless in its drudgery, undeniably exhausting (have you ever witnessed a mom with two kids and a stroller in tow attempt to fight her way onto a city bus?) and all too often undervalued.
We're quick to criticize mothers for any perceived misstep or shortcoming, much more so than fathers, who tend to be disproportionately rewarded for accomplishing the most basic of child-rearing tasks. (Case in point: idiotic reality TV shows such as The Week the Women Left, the premise of which revolved around men having to -- gasp! -- take care of their own children with no female support.)
Motherhood, on the other hand, is just supposed to come naturally to women, and God help you if your child throws a tantrum in the grocery store line or becomes a teenage delinquent because we all know where the dirty looks and blame will be directed.
The truth, as I've come to realize, is that moms -- be they stay-at-home or working, single or partnered, heterosexual or lesbian, young or old, rich or poor, biological, adoptive, foster or any other variation on the theme -- are doing the best they can with the cards they're dealt. No one's perfect, but then again, perfection has very little to do with parenting.
There will be no motherhood in my own future, as I've made a conscious decision to remain childless. It's a choice that pains my mother greatly (she really, really wants to be a grandma), but I think she's learning to accept it, and besides, she loves me unconditionally, as only a mother can.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom: Thanks for nurturing me, encouraging me, and doing your best.
Mimosas are on me.
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