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I'm mostly "meh" about Mother's Day. When I was a kid, we always went out to eat. The restaurants were crowded, wait was long. Then we had to go visit both sets of grandparents. Everyone was always grumpy and snippy by the end of the day.
The quote above reminded me... even if this is not originally a Hallmark holiday, they've definitely tried to take the ball and run everywhere with it. It's getting ridiculous how many cards there are - not just from the husband or the kids (both understandable, the first moreso if kids are too young to buy/make their own cards), but from the sibling, the grandkids, the parent, the cat... give me a break already. And the holiday has snowballed (or at least the marketing folks are working very hard to get it to) from simple card/flowers/meal to expectations of expensive and grandiose gifts, days out, etc.
Of course they are. That's what marketing people do. We can choose to fall for it, or not.
As for cards, you can ignore them, too. I buy only blank cards, nice artsy ones, for any occasion, and write my own message inside. Bought a lovely one with birds yesterday for Mom and will give it to her with the English Toffee she loves.
Sometimes I think all the special days such as Mother's, Father's Day, Grandmother's, Grandfather's, Valentine's, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's have good meaning, but they do cause stress for people. Or on the other words, people feel stressed out about those days because they have to worry too much about what to buy and give to these and/or those people. It's just too much time and money to spend for someone they may not even like, and the people who receive the gifts may not even like them.
Some people enjoy those days. Some others don't or even hate them. However, the ones who enjoy those days this year, or for many years, may dislike or hate them later in life. You never know. People change all the times.
Those days are good for business people for sure. In many cases, many people feel stressed, depressed to the point they commit to suicide, especially on Valentine's Day and Christmas Holiday Season. That's very, very sad.
I learn that all those days are just like any day on the calendar of the year after all. Each day I feel love and respect from my children and my loved ones, I feel happy already. If I did not have love and respect on the ordinary days, I would not care about anything on the special days. I learn not to expect much from others, so I won't feel disappointed. I learn to take good care of myself. What I care most in life is peace and good health.
When my children treat me well, I feel happy and grateful. If unfortunately otherwise, I would just shrug my shoulders and think about people who don't have children. So what? They still live. And many of them live a happy and meaningful life.
Try to calm down and take it easy. If nobody indulges you, you indulge yourself. Just don't expect anything from anyone. Problems solved.
We used to make a big deal for my mom, but after she died which was right before Mother's Day, I told my sons not to do that. I feel that they honor me in so many ways everyday of the year, I do not need a forced gift on a made for cards and flowers day holiday. I am not big on Valentine's Day either. If someone loves me I see it everyday. They think of me. They include me. They and I do things together and for each other all year long. Not just 1 day.
I used to hate it. I had to suffer through Mother's Day every year at DH's grandmother's house. She didn't like me (due to my not being a Seventh Day Adventist). DH came from a five generation Seventh Day Adventist family (but he stopped being one when he turned 18 or 19). She was very wealthy, and a snob when it came to religion. Family members did NOT marry outside the church, and if they did, the spouses ALWAYS converted.
She never got my name straight, and always called me "Becky" (that's NOWHERE close to my name and no, she wasn't senile). We'd always take her gifts, usually expensive boxes of chocolate candy. I'd get a short thank you note with an 8 paragraph lecture about giving my life to the Lord and putting Jesus first, etc., usually with an envelope full of SDA tracts. When pumped about my religion (which happened EVERY visit), I just stated, "Lutheran" (she'd been to our wedding in my folks church). I never went into the fact that I was "lapsed" and hadn't attended church in years, my parents never went all that often, and DH and I weren't raising our children in any religion. That, I think, would have given her a stroke.
We did the same every year on her birthday, taking her gifts and a decorated cake that I made myself. Always with the same reaction.
Last edited by Mrs. Skeffington; 05-14-2018 at 10:07 AM..
Of course they are. That's what marketing people do. We can choose to fall for it, or not.
As for cards, you can ignore them, too. I buy only blank cards, nice artsy ones, for any occasion, and write my own message inside. Bought a lovely one with birds yesterday for Mom and will give it to her with the English Toffee she loves.
I'd rather have what I got yesterday from my grandsons...a homemade card with a 4-year-old's large printing and a one-year-old's scribble, and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels...than diamonds or jewels. Oldest grandson is learning piano, so we called up my mother yesterday, and he played "Hot Cross Buns" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", using two hand cords, for her. Nana enjoyed it very much.
I'd rather have what I got yesterday from my grandsons...a homemade card with a 4-year-old's large printing and a one-year-old's scribble, and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels...than diamonds or jewels. Oldest grandson is learning piano, so we called up my mother yesterday, and he played "Hot Cross Buns" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", using two hand cords, for her. Nana enjoyed it very much.
Nice. When my daughter was little she always made homemade cards. They were the best!
No grandchildren for me, but I did get a beautiful card (meaning what it said) and a bouquet of sunflowers from my daughter.
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