Mother's Day

Let's get one thing straight.

Mother's Day is not for the women who would sell their child for crack, or who would suffer their child to be exploited or abused.

Mother's Day is for the imperfect women who lost their youth, their golden opportunities, and even their sanity to the raising of a younger generation. After all, an aunt or neighbor or counselor may be more of a mother to someone.

And it's true. Mother's Day, like any other special days, is far too commercialized already. Businesses are tapping on the purchasing power of the male population to buy something for the mother of their kids. Ads highlight what mothers have sacrificed so that everyone, as we all were born from one, will be driven to show their gratitude through spending.

And I won't deny that a cake just for me won't make me smile. I won't deny that all the commercials don't make me feel near-tears as I remember the struggles i've had and ponder all the uncertainties the future will bring. I won't deny that I will appreciate jewelry, new clothes, and massages. After all, if these things can be acquired and given, surely there is nothing wrong that these are given in appreciation of what a mother stands for.

And it isn't the gifts that really make the second Sunday of May important. It is the fact that, for one day, all of us mothers are acknowledged. What we do, who we are, what we have contributed, what kind of people we have raised. It is not just gratitude for the sacrifices we have made, but also celebration of the circle of life.

So all Moms should stand proud indeed and let what's due you be given you. Your husband and your kids need not give you the moon so long as they acknowledge you're a star.