Sunday, May 12, 2013

Highway or...

A decade ago, learning everything we know vaulted from the telly into our living rooms at night; now everything we know flashes, warp speedo, onto our personal electronic devices 24/7. And it's free! And it's the people's forum.

Thus, my friends, here are some Mother's day facts. From our pal,wiki, of course. In 1870-1880, Protestant schools observed holidays such as Children's Day (how thoughtful) Temperance Day (opps), Roll Call Sunday (more wiki), Decision Day (ditto) and Missionary Day (whaaat). Anna Jarvis, considered the 'mother' of MD, along with a Philly merchant, John Wanamaker established the first official recognized day May, 1908 in Wanamaker's auditorium to honor her deceased mother.
White carnations, 500 of them rolled out that Sunday by Anna Jarvis, symbolize the day.

Raised in a strict traditional way, my mother as a parent did not fall far from her hard ass father's tree. She was always the bad cop in our home. I once called her a 'tiger' which upset her, and my father laid the wood that night. Our various residences reflected her meticulous order. Of all my aunts, my mother was wonderful in the kitchen. Where she belonged? Uh, not really. For decades, my siblings and I were shits. Our lifestyles, our choices, were confusing. She never understood them, and never capitulated. It was her way, or the highway. When she died, we found a cardboard box, containing birthday cards, mother's day cards and other holiday memorabilia sent from various way stations over the decades by her wandering children. Never expressive emotionally (she would have dropped on a sword rather than admit she was wrong), that dusty box, a nugget in a grove of palm trees, articulated the words she could never say.

Remember your mother, and while you're at it, remember that:

Every Sunday: dessert and deliciousness abides with Mad Men, and GOThones.


No comments:

Post a Comment