Mother’s Day is coming up on the 8th of May here in Australia and while I don’t agree with the commercialization of it all, I do believe that motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society should be recognized and celebrated. The essence of this day is so much more than just giving a gift or saying Happy Mother’s Day, it is about truly letting our mums, whether they be maternal or just a mother figure in our life, know how much they are appreciated.
While celebrations commemorating and honouring motherhood date back to ancient times, it was not until the early 1900’s, through the efforts of Anna Jarvis that it became an official day of honour. Anna herself however also became resentful of the commercialization of the day after Hallmark started selling Mother’s Day cards in the 1920’s. She stood by her belief that it was a day to express gratitude, not one for profitable exploits and went as far as publicly protesting and boycotting Mother’s day to show her disgust at the companies who were taking advantage. Anna believed that we should be hand writing letters and cards and displaying our gratitude through actions, not by purchasing pre-made sentiments. I agree, mind you I have to say I don’t object to receiving wine and chocolates.
In honour of Anna, whose inspiration for Mother’s Day stemmed from paying tribute to her own mother, I am publicly writing a letter to my Mum. If any readers of this blog have had the absolute pleasure of meeting or knowing my mum, who is a midwife, you will already have some idea of how much she deserves to be reminded of how loved and appreciated she is.
Dear Mum,
I am writing this letter as I am unable to be with you this Mother’s Day, and I wanted to remind you how much I love you and how much you mean to me. With the passing of both Nannas and Pop I see the fragility of life, how short it is and how the years are passing by ever so quickly. I want to spend more quality time with you, making more memories, and soaking up all the mummy love that you have smothered me with all my life.
I remember all the Mother’s Day family gatherings at Nan and Pop’s over the years. I loved watching how everyone doted on Nanna. She sacrificed a lot to raise 5 children from the age of 17, and despite all the hardships and difficult times, the family always made sure she felt loved and appreciated. I am sure there will be moments of sadness this Sunday as you miss your mum and remember her. Let’s light a candle for Nanna, and for Dad’s mum too. Let us remember all those who are grieving mothers who are no longer here.
I want to say thank you for all that you have done and do, not just for me, but for our family. You have never judged choices I have made in my life, only ever offered your support. We’ve had our ups and downs, but what relationship doesn’t? No matter what, you have always been there for me, sharing in my triumphs and tears. You have always encouraged me to be different and to follow my passions. You are not only my mum, but my best friend and partner in wine and singing into spoons. We have had so many good times and adventures and I know there’ll be plenty more.
I am forever grateful that you are my Mum.
You are beautiful,
gentle, caring and kind.
A heart full of compassion,
I’m so glad you,re mine.
Thank you for all the times I forgot to say it. And if it at times I may have seemed ungrateful, I want you to know that nothing you have done has gone unnoticed.
Thank you for being you. Happy Mother’s Day today and everyday.
Love you to the moon and back,
Jass
In honour of all mothers, mother figures, maternal bonds and maternal lines.
Jassy Watson, who lives on the sub-tropical coast of Queensland Australia, is a Mother of four, passionate organic gardener, Contemporary Earth Artist, Intentional Creativity Coach and a student of Ancient History and Religion at Macquarie University, Sydney. She is the Creatress of Earth Circle Studios; a small school for the Sacred Creative Arts. Jassy teaches regular painting workshops in person, nationally, internationally, and online based around themes that explore myth, history, earth connection and the Goddess. You can see her work at www.earthcirclestudios.com
feminismandreligion.com 
What if the values associated with motherhood–generosity and love–were universally recognized as the highest values–above aggressive self-assertion, egotism, greed, hoarding, setting yourself above others, domination, and war. It was once that way. It can be again.
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In the 1870s, US activist, writer and poet Juliet Ward Howe worked to have Mothers Day be a day dedicated to peace. In 1870 she wrote a Mothers Day Proclamation urging women to rise up against war.
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yep Carol … a M(o)therworld is possible as you say. thank you Jassy for remembering Anna Jarvis, a radical woman: and your wonderful Mum. And you yourself are such a Mother to many, as well as your anklebiters!
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Yes, thank you for your post, Jassy; I join you in honoring all mothers and maternal lines, as well as your own sweet mother. I have wonderful memories of seeing the two of you together in Crete sharing laughter and adventure.
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Thank you for a beautiful, heart-full post. I am missing my mother, who died in 1997. My children will be in other countries–one on another continent–on mother’s day. But the connections are deep and reach across, space and time, unbroken even by death.
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Love the photo! Thanks, Jassy! Wonderful post.
There are tears in what I’m going to say. But my mom died long ago when I was young, and she had a very tough life previous to that. I have adopted some additional moms though, over the years, and in fact one of them is younger than I am. Georgia O’Keeffe was a sort of mom to me too. I met her while working at a museum in NYC on an exhibition she had there. I put together a website on her art, recently, so she’s on my mind right now. I’ve linked my name to the website.
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Go for it, Jassy, what a wonderful post. Thank you.
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Wow, this was such an inspiring post. Thank you for providing the history of mother’s day so that we can all be reminded of its roots and why this holiday exist. This will be my husband’s second mother’s day without his mother and I am now inspired to keep a candle lit in honor of his mother. I am also inspired to give my mother a more thoughtful gift this year. After reading your post it has shown me that we can all become and/or seem ungrateful in the way we treat our moms. I was really confused on what I should get my mom this year and was searching every where. I really wanted to get her a gift that would make her feel loved and remind her of my appreciation that she is my mom. And now I know exactly what I can give her.
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I truly admire your admiration and sweetest sentiments to your beloved mother. Hope both of you spend a beautiful mother’s day. I truly appreciated the background information of mother’s day given in your post and I’m grateful for Anna Jarvis paving the way for the day we devote to show utter appreciation to our mothers. I do admit to putting off gift searching for my mother but after reading your post I feel as if I should make a trip to my local crafts store and make my mom a more personal gift for her to cherish.
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Happy Mother’s day for you and your mother. That was a truly beautiful letter written to your mother and the love and admiration for your mother is evident. This post brought so much clarity for me and gave me a much-needed revelation of the importance of expressing love and appreciation to our mothers. I do admit to putting off Mother’s Day shopping this year but thanks to this post I feel I should make a trip to a local crafts store to make a thoughtful gift for my mother.
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Always remember with joy being with you and Ramona in pilgrimage. She is, indeed, a wonderful mother, and, you, dear Jassy, a wonderful daughter –
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