My mother passed away when I was 18, and for many years after that Mother’s day was one of the hardest days of the year for me each year.
I was a bartender for many years and even though Mother’s Day was a guaranteed big money day, I always had to take the day off because I couldn’t keep it together trying to serve all of the families that would come in for brunch with their mothers.
I felt completely left out and ripped off. It seemed like a day where people like me were excluded and forgotten about. It didn’t seem fair.
Then, several years following my mother’s death, I attended a luncheon for Motherless Daughters. I found about it through I book that was given to me by a friend called ‘Motherless Daughters‘ (which I HIGHLY recommend).
The luncheon took place on the day before Mother’s Day.
There was a guest speaker who spoke about the origin of Mother’s Day. She explained that Mother’s day was actually created by a woman who, a year after her mother died, had a huge memorial/celebration in honor of her mother’s life. That was the first Mother’s Day.
So Mother’s Day wasn’t originally created to celebrate the living mothers, it was created to celebrate the ones that are no longer walking the earth.
Learning this shifted everything for me. From that point forward I have always seen Mother’s Day a great day where I get to celebrate my mother’s life.
Of course, now that I have children of my own, Mother’s Day has taken on other new meanings for me as well.
When I reflect back on the memory of my mother, I often think about how her passion for technology was part of her legacy that has been passed down to me… and how has now become part of my legacy.
I shot a quick video about it (8 years ago on Mother’s day) with my mother’s day message for you.
It’s also a huge shout-out to all of the mothers out there. You are all amazing.
I hope you take this day to celebrate your mother, celebrate yourself, celebrate your children, and celebrate life.
Happy Mother’s Day!
I love you,
Comments
Wow Amy – thanks so much for sharing this. I never knew that originally Mother’s Day was a celebration for mother’s that had passed and not really for mother’s who were still alive. I can see how that focus shifted how you viewed mother’s day again. That was wonderful and now with having children, you are able to view mother’s day in a whole different light. 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. 🙂
Thanks, LT. Yes, learning that was a game changer for me for sure. Thanks so much for stopping by.