Mother’s Day, like every day, is important for motherhood

Dear Editor,
There’s an old saying, “God couldn’t be everywhere at once, so He made moms”. This is a statement that has horrible theology in it, but attempts to convey the importance of motherhood.
Mother’s Day is the day on our calendar for expressing appreciation to our mothers, as well as to those who have “mothered” us – those wonderful people who have cared for us, nurtured us, and helped us on our way.
When it comes to Mother’s Day, I’m ‘old school’; I still believe every day is Mother’s Day! I still buy Mother’s Day cards for my mom, for my mother-in-law, and for my wife. It turns out that I’m not the only one who does this.
This Mother’s Day, like every day, there are reminders of our mothers and ‘mother figures’ in ways we can’t always anticipate. Something happens, or something is said, and we think of “her”. Celebrating this important role makes sense, and certainly feels right.
Today there are families struggling with abuse and neglect, where many of our young children are separated from their mothers. Today offers an opportunity to reflect on how commemorating mothers in what’s become a commercial holiday may feel for those kids. Most of us were not separated from our mothers as children.
Some of us have lost our mothers, and know the grief that accompanies such loss. We should also consider what this day represents for mothers living without their children as a result of child protective involvement — a jumble of feelings that can amount to profound sadness.
Mother’s Day reminds us that we are all born deserving to be loved. Nature dictated that, in the first instance, this love; this unconditional expression of protection, trust, safety, and care, should come from our biological mothers. We may have known of many who have had that critical mother-child connection dramatically interrupted.
My hope for the mothers, mother figures, grandmothers, aunts, sisters etc, who work to take care of their families, is that they get some time to appreciate how important they are to the younger people whose lives they are changing, both at home and at the work place.
There is no more important work than what they all do for our fragile but remarkably resilient children and young people.
If you are one of those people who have made a mother’s difference in the life of someone who truly needed you, this day is for you. Just think of the difference you have made in somebody’s world — beginning with the gift of life itself. You give us so many reasons to be thankful. Happy Mother’s Day!

Sincerely,
David Adams