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Mother’s Day — the Good, the Bad and Ugly
Mother’s Day was invented in 1907, by Anna Jarvis.
Originally meant simply as a simple day to honor mothers, it expanded to include others who mother and became a national holiday in 1914, which meant it became a more commercial, card-buying/giving holiday which “Jarvis spent the last years of her life trying to abolish the holiday she had brought into being.” Isn’t that sad? Even the creator of Mother’s Day thought it had grown into something too commercial!
Mother’s Day can be very tough for those whose mothers have passed away, or for those who have living mothers who are less than ideal or even abusive. There is such *hype* around this holiday and the smarmy, overly emotional posts on social media can be a bit much.
I had a really good mother, especially considering that she did not have an especially good mother. My grandmother was mentally ill (she was diagnosed with schizophrenia sometime in her 30s I think). She struggled all her life with it, and had to be hospitalized for 6 of my mother’s childhood years (age 6–12). She did get a bit better and was able to be out of the hospital for several years. There are pictures of her with my mom at my parent’s wedding, and she posed with her mother and mine and baby me for a…
