Mothering Sunday "Clucks and Downs"

Today began badly for me! I was feeling quite down this morning which later turned to anger and then to a form acceptance I suppose. These feeling have been building up for a number of days thanks to seeing lots of adverts for "Mother's Day"! 
As a mother,you may be wondering why this would upset me as it is a day celebrating being a mother. Well, for me it is a reminder of what I miss and that is hugs from my own mum.

For those of you who don't know me or who may not have read some of my recent pieces for Mummy Pages (The pieces I'm referring to can be found here and here) my mum passed away at the age of 50, 19 years this June. She will soon be gone as long as I'd known her and that really upsets me. It upsets me even more knowing my two children will never have the opportunity to meet her. 


As my emotions progressed to anger today it was because I've seen many people who don't appreciate what they have. There are those who take their mothers for granted, and others who don't appreciate how lucky they are to be mothers. For me, I would do anything to be able to give my mum a big hug, tell her how sorry I'm for being a typical teenager and then introduce my children to her for one of her hugs. 

When I think of the first piece I wrote for Mummy Pages about my mum I was on the train to Cork to the Today Show and as I finished writing I was pulling into the station and all I wanted to do was cry. I'd reminded myself of all the wonderful things my mum was and how even though she's not here she has inspired me to do my best to be a great mum to my children. 

Towards the end of the today I began to perk up and this was partially after curiosity Googling the history of Mothers Day .... Where or how did it all begin?

A brief History!

Mother's have been celebrated as early as the ancient Greeks and Romans. On reading this, it didn't surprise me as they always seemed to celebrate all thing wonderful!!  

Within recent history Mothering Sunday dates back to the 1600's in the UK. This was celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent and those who were away from their homes such as servants, apprentices and other employees were encouraged to visit their mothers by their employers. 

In 1872 the idea then arose in the US as suggested by Julia Ward Howe. She was an activist, writer and poet and was famous for the Civil War song "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Julia suggested that the 2nd June became and annual celebration for Mothers and for peace. 

The piece of history that caught my eye on my initial Google was that of Anna Jarvis which I first read on Wikipedia and later on other sites such as Mothers Day Celebrations. Anna began with placing her mothers favorite flowers in her Church in Grafton, West Virginia in 1905 and after her efforts by 1911 Mothers Day was recognized as an official holiday in most of the states in the US. 
What made me smile (sorry Anna) was that later she would soon resent the holiday as it became more commercial. My reason for smiling is that I call many holidays like this "Hallmark Day" 
For her the holiday was about sentiment and not a money making scheme. Anna arranged boycotts and threatened lawsuits to try and stop it becoming a commercial holiday. When when Anna passed away she had hated what the holiday had become. 

I think after my emotional journey today, while I will always miss my mum, for me, I'm blessed to be a Mum and to have a wonderful family with my husband and our two beauties. 
For Mothers Day, Sorry Anna, but I love cards so I'm hoping a nice one will come my way from my children. The day will be a cook free day for all , I don't care what we eat or where but there will be no mess created, lol! After that, and most importantly, there will be hugs and lots of them as there is everyday. 

www.calmpeople.co.uk

For those of you who still have your mums don't wait until Mothers Day to give them a great hug ;-)