Home » Partners & Parents » Mothering & Feminism » Mama Day

Mama Day

© Karen Low

Mama Day

My husband and daughter are at their weekly swimming lesson. For one hour a week, I am alone. I sit now tranquil, savouring delicious moments. There are things I should be doing, but I choose to just sit, and gaze into space, and reflect upon my life, my self, and my soul. This morning I am contemplating motherhood. Around the world, mothers are being awakened with offers of shaky trays filled with runny eggs, half frozen orange juice, and wilted flowers. Little hand-made cards, and similar works of great art adorn refrigerators everywhere. Today is Mother’s Day, set aside once a year in appreciation for our commitment to raising our children.

This is my third year as a recipient of admiration on Mother’s Day. Maya, at two and a half, does not understand what it means to be thankful, or appreciative. Those silly adult-created concepts are too broad for her to wrap her mind around; instead, her gratitude exists within her, and I receive praise in abundance as I observe her spirit, her happiness and her courage.

For instance, last night we visited friends, childless. Afraid that Maya would be bored, we brought toys, and books and set her up with crayons and blank pages. Instead, she wanted to participate. She “helped” dry dishes, start the barbeque, and pour drinks. I noticed my friend wince good-naturedly as Maya screeched with delight, and provided a running commentary: “Now we put da ‘tatoes on da barbeque” “Now da cat behind da couch” “come, come, I show you sompin’!” “You wanna play?” “You must play wit me now” “ when we eating?” “I vewwy hungwy” “dat your TV?” And on, and on, and on… My husband and I watched, beaming with pride as our sweet child tended to our needs, as she made sure we were cared for. She participated in our discussions and became very shy when we inadvertently laughed at one of her irresistible observations about the current state of affairs: “cats don’t dwink wine”.

Towards the end of our visit, we let Maya know that we were preparing to leave. It has proven beneficial to give her a lot of warning before just getting up and going. She is finding it difficult these days to leave different places of enjoyment such as the park, or nana’s house. We acknowledge those feelings with understanding, “it’s hard to leave a place when we’re having fun, isn’t it?”, sometimes she responds with a sad nod, and other times she cries out loud, unable to contain her disappointment. Last night was exceptional and it turned out to be my husband and I who had to hold back our emotions.

The copyright of the article Mama Day in Mothering & Feminism is owned by . Permission to republish Mama Day in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.