If any of you know me at all, you know that I have no human children of my own. You should also know that I am the proud mommy of three furry babies, four aquababies, and two feathery babies.
Am I a mother in what the world would deem a "traditional" sense? No.
Am I a mother? Absolutely.
Upon this mother's day 2010 I felt blasphemous. I didn't want breakfast in bed. I didn't want the flowers. I didn't want the gifts. I didn't want the recognition. I am not what the world would call a mother, therefore I should not be able to participate in the world's day to celebrate mothers.
As I was trolling the interwebs in my depressed stupor I came across a twitter feed that I sometimes read. This gentleman stated that he did not celebrate mother's day growing up. It wasn't allowed. He also stated that Mothers should be appreciated every day, not just once a year.
I was struck by this. Do we celebrate mothers every day? We should. A mother should be celebrated in the achievements of her children. A mother should be celebrated in the smile of her happy, full, angel baby. A mother should be celebrated in her ability to care for and teach her children. A mother should be celebrated for the meal she has warm on the table for her family right at dinner time. Are mothers perfect? Of course not. Do they try to be? Often. Should we celebrate their effort all the time? Absolutely.
What about the other women in our lives? What about our wives, daughters, sisters, friends, aunts, cousins, teachers, young womens and relief society leaders, etc.? Do we celebrate these women the same way we celebrate our mothers? No. They aren't our mothers. They play a very different role. Should we celebrate them as women? Absolutely.
Is being a woman difficult? Of course it is. Humanity is difficult. No matter your gender, just being human is difficult. We knew it would be, yet we chose to come to earth anyway.
What if we took today, one day in the year, not to celebrate mothers, but to celebrate women? I think Mothers should be thanked, and should be celebrated on a consistent basis. Not with flowers, not being showered with gifts, but just to be recognized. To be thanked. To be told we love them. Let our mothers have the other 364 days a year. On this one day, celebrate the women in our lives. Our mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, aunts, etc. Not every female gets the chance to be a mother, or a wife, but every female gets the chance to be a woman. I feel that is something worth celebrating.
Am I saying you should downplay mother's day? Absolutely not. Recognize their talents as women. Buy them flowers if you do, shower them with gifts if that's your tradition. Bring them breakfast in bed to put a smile on their face. Take care of dinner and let them put their feet up. But also recognize your daughters. They have divine potential. See it in their eyes and their happy smiling faces. Let them know you appreciate them. Remind them how happy you are to have girls. Recognize your sisters. They've been with you for most if not all your life. They've given you advice you just couldn't talk to your mom or dad about. Sisterly bond is special, precious, and very hard to break. Some of them may be mothers of their own, but they were your sister first. Tell them you appreciate them. Recognize your friends. The ones you go out on a girls night with, just to have some giggles. The ones you fawned over high school boys with cause they were just so cute. The friends who were there to help you plan your wedding, and stood there, supporting you when their feet were aching and they were wearing a dress they knew they would never wear again.
So today, I'm changing the tradition in my little family. We will no longer be celebrating Mother's day. We will now be celebrating Women's Appreciation Day. Because every woman as the right to be appreciated.
