Ode to Motherhood

In the beginning, mom created the breakfast and the lunch.

The household was w/o form and void:  darkness hovered over the faces of deep sleep. And mom said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 

Her children did not appreciate the light at 6:30AM, but mom saw that it was good.  And there was evening and there was morning another day.

Mom said, “Let the waters of the bathroom be gathered together in one place, and let the dry ground stay dry.”  Mom called the waters “bath,” and the dry ground she called, “the rest of the bathroom.”  She saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning another day.

Then mom said, “Let every lunchbox sprout with vegetables after their kind, at least one serving of fruit, but only a single cookie; and let the upstairs bring forth laundry from its firmament.”  

And mom saw that it was good. 

Mom said, “Let the lesser lights that govern the house by night yield to the greater light that governs the house by day, indeed may the lesser lights be turned off when leaving the room.  And it was so. 

Then mom said to her husband, “We have brought forth children in our own image, male and female we have created them, although your son could really use a haircut.” 

Then she said to her daughter, “Be fruitful and multiply!” And after a dramatic pause she said, “In fact, add, subtract and divide until you have finished all your homework.”  Mom blessed her children and said, “I have given over to you every animal of the downstairs and every fish of the upstairs.  They will be yours to feed.”  And it was so. 

After six days mom had matched every sock according to its kind and kissed every boo-boo. She knew after the weekend her call to bring order to chaos would sound again. So she declared a day of rest— a day without lunchboxes, swim practice, or carpools.  And mom gave thanks for Sunday.

Mother’s Day, the second Sunday of May

Mother’s Day was the brainchild of Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) who recognized her own mother’s generous sacrifices.  Miss Jarvis gave a carnation (her mother’s favorite flower) to each person attending her memorial service and campaigned for a national day for mothers.  On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”