You see, as a kid, my family didn't celebrate Mothers Day. I don't remember having nice lunches or making Mum breakfast in bed. I can't even remember making her fancy homemade gifts at school and I don't remember ringing my grandmother in New Zealand either.
I think that was partly because my father was rarely at home and my mother wouldn't have drawn attention to herself. MyMum is a pretty humble lady who always downplays what she does.
But today, I've realised that Mothers Day is about saying thank you for all those things you haven't said thank you for over the year. The times Mum cleaned up the bedroom or did another load of washing. The days Mum stayed home when you were sick or rocked you to sleep when you were tired. The days that she cuddled you through your tears and spoke words of encouragement when you faced your fears. There are so many things that Mums do that go unthanked. I now realise I have a huge debt of Mothers Days to make up for.
These days, my thanks is more for stepping in and looking after the kids when I need a hand, or putting up with a change of plans when my life gets busy. My thanks is for accepting that I'm far from perfect and sometimes forget to call her. My thanks is for the opportunities she gives me to return the care she's given me over the years - cooking her meals and including her in the grandchildren's lives.
Mothers are the foundation of society. They teach children how to live in community and how to behave as adults. They are largely the unpaid workforce in society, that does the cooking, cleaning, childrearing and other volunteer work that keeps the economy going. Every mother deserves to feel valued today. I'm glad I got that right this year.
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