Mother... such a versatile word. It can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or even an adverb! You can have a lovely mother. You can mother your students like your own. You can act motherly to others' children and you can most definitely be a Mother Fu#*er! I have been acquainted with all of the former adaptations.
I was fortunate to have known my mother, two grandmothers and one great grandmother all as different and unique as their generation. Each of those generations I would choose over the three I have been blessed to be a part of. (I know I ended a sentence with a preposition!) I wouldn't have missed any of the stress, the modernization or even the technology....mostly because I would never have been privy to them in the first place. I never complained about a phone cord or the television ending at the Star Spangled Banner or looking clean, age appropriate and dignified at school. I loved covering my books on the first day with paper bags and polishing my sneakers often to keep them white. I never found it unpleasant to eat dinner together, wait till my Mom was seated to begin or doing the dishes afterwards. Cheerleading was the bomb.....it was our only option as a sport.. We didn't complain (much) about our gym suits because we all looked ridiculous wearing them and no one gave us an alternative.. We even knew our teachers from the students as the women wore dresses and skirts and the men, shirts and ties. What a novel, respectful thing.
I am not begrudging now...ok a maybe a little, but life was simple! Girls were girls, boys were boys, adults were respected ....yes sometimes JUST because they were adults and possibly hadn't quite earned it. Some of my friends were disciplined. Some were paddled, some were slapped, some were belted but I generally only needed the look. I did however; at sixteen, wash my own mouth out with soap, Ivory in fact. It was not fun but highly recommended for the first time using the F word in front of a parent. Today, you wouldn't even be able to distinguish houses along a street surrounded by the bubbles emanating from windows and doors if this practice were still used today. That horrible, corporal punishment generally did the trick.... Our generation is not heavy with assholes.....I wish I could say that about the present generation. Do not mistake my sentiment, we are still surrounded by idiots from our generation but I'm not sure that can be traced to lack of discipline.
Back to the subject at hand.... Mothers. It is Mother's Day. I had a kind Mom. Nothing overtly smoochy or lovey but kind, caring and she did her job. She enjoyed her children and grandchildren. She wasn't a babysitter, she didn't wear an apron or bake pies but we ate well, spoke well, read well, enjoyed sports, kept our beds made and our rooms clean, did our homework on time and respected our elders!!!!
I, as a Mom, had wonderful successes and monumental failures. I own them all 100%! You read everywhere that a mother's love is unconditional. Mine is not! That's as honest as I can possibly be. What you see is what you get. Mother's Day is fine just as it is today in 2024. I have no mother, grandmothers or aunts with whom to celebrate. That's ok... I have great memories of all of them. I have friends who are some of the most wonderful moms I have ever been blessed to know. We are all different yet all the same. They are celebrating today in a way that makes them happy ad fulfilled. Me too! I was treated to breakfast by Jeff and Jett and now I am in my lovely home writing, which I love, reading which I love and will dine on cheese, crackers and a bloody mary once the clock strikes noon.
Who could ask for more! Happy Mother's Day to me!♥
