MOTHER’S DAY – HISTORY AND IMPORTANCE

Mother’s Day. (Sunday May 10)

Hello people! Hope you’ll doing well. All set for May 10th Sunday I hope. Why? Hmmm… Guys its mother’s day! Oh yes! That one special day that returns each year. That one day when mothers can enjoy the day in all its glory. The one day that mothers can shine in. The one day when you can make them feel extra special.

We gotta thank Anna Jarvis who in 1908 held a memorial for her mother in West Virginia in the United States of America. However she started this campaign in 1905 to make Mother’s Day a celebrated and recognized holiday in the US. Anna’s efforts paid off as few states recognized this and began to celebrate it. In face the president of the US Woodrow Wilson during his tenure in 1914 signed a proclamation creating Mother’s Day to honor all mothers and this would be celebrated on the second Sunday of May.

“Maa key paon key nechey jannat hoti hai”, how often we have heard this in Pakistan. From children to teenagers to young men and women and even adults who have children. Why is this line so popular?

Well dear reader this is what I think about this line. We have heard of jannat being so beautiful where Allah provides for his creations, man and animal alike. We being “ashraf ul makhlookat” have the highest spot reserved for us in the heavens and therefore will have every comfort provided to us in the afterlife. Similarly it is our mothers who make our heaven on Earth. They love us above everything. They cook for us. Feed us. Bathe us. Wash our clothes. Clean up the house. Attend our school functions. Defend us from the world. Sleep hungry at times when required. Work even when sick. Guide us. Help us. Teach us. Scold us (for our own good and safety). They forgive us for our mistakes. They take care of our wedding preparations when we are ready to get married. Then they take care of their grandkids. They offer us a shoulder to cry on. They wipe away our tears. They don’t judge us. The list can go on and on. Is this not heaven on Earth. Who else would put up with all this? Who would take care of us unconditionally? Who?

Let’s make this day special for them dear reader. Those moments when we were growing up. Imagine the love we felt for our mothers when young. We can feel the same again if we choose to remember the good times. Let that past suppressed love stir within our hearts again. Let us see our mothers in their past glory. Let us see them as they were when they were our guardians, our defenders, our angels from heaven. Anna Jarvis fought tooth and nail for this day to be a national holiday for her mother and mothers in the US. Let is continue with this. Make her fight worthwhile.

If you’re thinking of getting expensive gifts to show her you love it may work but remember she is your mother. Just showing up at her house with some food that you’ve cooked for her and offering to do the chores around the house that day would make her feel amazing. She is your mother and materialistic stuff won’t impress her much. She still sees you as that little brat who she helped learn to walk. That adorable bundle of love who kept her awake at nights when sick. That irresponsible teenager whose underwear’s she still washed while he played his on his PlayStation with his friends and then who even had the nerve to tell her to whip up some snacks for him and his friends. She still sees you as that young lady who came and told her about the guy in class that you had a crush on. She still sees you as a young man crying at times fighting your own inner demons weighed down with responsibilities of an adult life.

And when she sees you she smiles. The worry lines on her forehead vanish.  The corners of her eyes show her deep crinkles when she smiles. Her eyes light up when she sees you. And trust me she sees only you when you show her you and shout out “Happy Mother’s Day mom”. She sees not what your hands hold for her hands were the ones that held you almost twenty years of your life.

She smiles. She thinks to herself….my baby has come to meet me. Her heart stirs with love from within. Already she is thinking of ways to make your visit comfortable. Sigh….these mothers. Gotta love them madly. Our heaven on earth. And yes dear reader one very important thing. Don’t just depend on this particular day to make her feel special. She never made you feel extra special on children’s day or your birthday. She did it every day with resilience. You do it every day too.

Remember dear reader. Mother’s Day is every day. Not just in the month of May.