UNITED STATES—This was a bit of an odd Mother’s Day for me because for the first time in a long time I didn’t physically get to see my mother. It would bother me normally, but my mother just wanted a day of peace and not be bothered by anyone. I know it seems foreign, but sometimes you can be surprised by how people respond to certain holidays to celebrate them.
Mother’s Day is that holiday that I do feel people go out for. Moms are important; without them none of us would exist and they do the heavy lifting that not many realize. It is the woman who carries the child not the father, and in many cases their lives are at risk more than the dad. Before you ask, yes, I did speak to my mother on the phone, we chatted for about an hour and had a good catch up on things and what was going on in our respective lives.
Before you ask, I did also get my mother a gift as well. A pretty nice gift at that, but for my mom gifts are nice and all, but I think she just prefers to spend time with her kids and for her to not want to be bothered, it was evident she was burnt, she wanted rest and just some time to herself. I can totally understand as she has a lot on her plate dealing with my stepdad and his condition.
I actually got in a tiff with my sister about Mother’s Day because she argued people should go out for Mother’s Day because moms do more than dads. I did push back a bit because I didn’t think that was too fair. However, after hearing her perspective it did open my eyes more than I imagined. She broke down all the stress she endures on a daily and weekly basis and I considered it, but I didn’t really consider it until I heard the perspective.
A lot of the time, the mom is doing everything, that is NOT to say dads don’t do those things, but you hear more about single mothers versus single dads. That is not to say single dads don’t exist because I’m sure they do, we just don’t hear about them. So can we expect to see consumers and the public shower dads the same way they do with moms? No, no we don’t see it, but we should see that love for dads because I think they are critical to a child’s development and life, and don’t get the amount of love and showering that they should.
However, as I get older, I am discovering dads and moms are not that different when it comes to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Both parents want to be left alone; they want rest, they want someone else to deal with the kids, the pets, the house, work and any of those stressors that they deal with on a daily basis. I think dads might want to be left alone more than the kids, but you never truly know. Just because dad says it’s no big deal, doesn’t actually mean he doesn’t want to spend a bit of time with the kids and family. The same applies with mom. We shouldn’t assume, but long story short, show love to your parents. Make them feel special for 24 hours people, hell they gave you life that is the least you can do.
Written By Jason Jones
