Mother's Day
Amanda Horein
I thought I would share my blog post for today here. I think I have been
growing in unschooling with leaps and bounds lately (although I still have a
long ways to go) and wanted to share my "aha" moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been thinking about Mothers Day lately.
Typically on Mother's Day I go into "martyr thinking". My dear and devoted
husband wouldn't know romance if it bit him on the butt so generally
speaking, I don't get anything. I might get something if I whine about how I
didn't get anything, but then it feels like he's just doing it to get me to
shut up so it doesn't mean anything.
Yesterday I got to thinking about the purpose of Mother's Day. What is it?
Well, of course, everyone knows that it is a day to honor mothers. To show
them how much you appreciate them, right?
Why do I need/want one day every year to celebrate being a mother? One day
to know that i am appreciated by those whom I care for? ONE DAY? You have to
be kidding me. I started rethinking that. I don't want ONE day. I want to
know I am appreciated every day. I don't need a diamond ring or a piece of
paper that tells me that. I need to look at my family in a different way. I
need to see the ways that they tell me they love me EVERY SINGLE DAY!
So, I started yesterday.
My first "Mother's Day" was marked by the fact that my two beautiful, very
social daughters who are unschooled (and since we haven't had a car in
several weeks we haven't been able to make it to local meetings) turned
down playing with the local schooled neighborhood kids (whom they have been
playing with every day for the last 2+ weeks, might I add so they aren't not
getting *any* social interaction right now) to make slime with their mom.
What a compliment to hear them tell the kids to go home because they are
doing a project with mom. It warmed my heart.
You can see the results of our science project at
http://365daysofsparkle.blogspot.com/2008/05/slime.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, after thinking about all this, I had to look up Mother's Day on
wikipedia and got to learn the history of Mother's Day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother's_Day
Here is some interesting information on it...
At first, it was to honor the Gods in Roman and Greek times. Here's how it
came about in the US.
*The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In
the United States <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States>, Mother's Day
was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported by social
activist Julia
Ward Howe <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Ward_Howe> after the American
Civil War <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War>. However, it was
intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's
Day Proclamation
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_Proclamation>as a call
for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get
formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann
Jarvis <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Jarvis>, a young Appalachian
homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through
what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil
War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she
began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.*
*When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna
Jarvis<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Jarvis>,
started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such
Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West
Virginia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton%2C_West_Virginia>,
on 10 May <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_10>
1908<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908>,
in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School.
Originally the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, this building is now the
International Mother's Day Shrine (a National Historic
Landmark<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Historic_Landmark>).
From there, the custom caught on � spreading eventually to 45 states. The
holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914
President Woodrow Wilson
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson>declared the first
national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to
show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.*
*Nine years after the first official Mother's Day, commercialization of the
U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major
opponent of what the holiday had become. Mother's Day continues to this day
to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. According to
the National Restaurant
Association<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Restaurant_Association>,
Mother's Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a
restaurant in the United States.*
So much for that idea, lol!
--
Amanda
http://whatmykidstaughtme.blogspot.com/
http://365daysofsparkle.blogspot.com
My "Working Toward Pro" Photographs
www.hopescreations.com
http://choose2bgr8.deviantart.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
growing in unschooling with leaps and bounds lately (although I still have a
long ways to go) and wanted to share my "aha" moment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been thinking about Mothers Day lately.
Typically on Mother's Day I go into "martyr thinking". My dear and devoted
husband wouldn't know romance if it bit him on the butt so generally
speaking, I don't get anything. I might get something if I whine about how I
didn't get anything, but then it feels like he's just doing it to get me to
shut up so it doesn't mean anything.
Yesterday I got to thinking about the purpose of Mother's Day. What is it?
Well, of course, everyone knows that it is a day to honor mothers. To show
them how much you appreciate them, right?
Why do I need/want one day every year to celebrate being a mother? One day
to know that i am appreciated by those whom I care for? ONE DAY? You have to
be kidding me. I started rethinking that. I don't want ONE day. I want to
know I am appreciated every day. I don't need a diamond ring or a piece of
paper that tells me that. I need to look at my family in a different way. I
need to see the ways that they tell me they love me EVERY SINGLE DAY!
So, I started yesterday.
My first "Mother's Day" was marked by the fact that my two beautiful, very
social daughters who are unschooled (and since we haven't had a car in
several weeks we haven't been able to make it to local meetings) turned
down playing with the local schooled neighborhood kids (whom they have been
playing with every day for the last 2+ weeks, might I add so they aren't not
getting *any* social interaction right now) to make slime with their mom.
What a compliment to hear them tell the kids to go home because they are
doing a project with mom. It warmed my heart.
You can see the results of our science project at
http://365daysofsparkle.blogspot.com/2008/05/slime.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, after thinking about all this, I had to look up Mother's Day on
wikipedia and got to learn the history of Mother's Day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother's_Day
Here is some interesting information on it...
At first, it was to honor the Gods in Roman and Greek times. Here's how it
came about in the US.
*The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In
the United States <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States>, Mother's Day
was loosely inspired by the British day and was imported by social
activist Julia
Ward Howe <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Ward_Howe> after the American
Civil War <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War>. However, it was
intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's
Day Proclamation
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_Proclamation>as a call
for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get
formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann
Jarvis <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Jarvis>, a young Appalachian
homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through
what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil
War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she
began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors.*
*When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna
Jarvis<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Jarvis>,
started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such
Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West
Virginia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton%2C_West_Virginia>,
on 10 May <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_10>
1908<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908>,
in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School.
Originally the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, this building is now the
International Mother's Day Shrine (a National Historic
Landmark<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Historic_Landmark>).
From there, the custom caught on � spreading eventually to 45 states. The
holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914
President Woodrow Wilson
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson>declared the first
national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to
show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.*
*Nine years after the first official Mother's Day, commercialization of the
U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major
opponent of what the holiday had become. Mother's Day continues to this day
to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. According to
the National Restaurant
Association<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Restaurant_Association>,
Mother's Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a
restaurant in the United States.*
So much for that idea, lol!
--
Amanda
http://whatmykidstaughtme.blogspot.com/
http://365daysofsparkle.blogspot.com
My "Working Toward Pro" Photographs
www.hopescreations.com
http://choose2bgr8.deviantart.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Angela Shaw
I loved this post. I like the way you are choosing to see the little ways
each day that your family appreciates you. The history of mother's day was
interesting. I like the original reason for the celebration.
Angela Shaw
game-enthusiast@...
each day that your family appreciates you. The history of mother's day was
interesting. I like the original reason for the celebration.
Angela Shaw
game-enthusiast@...
Sandra Dodd
-=- Typically on Mother's Day I go into "martyr thinking". My dear
and devoted
husband wouldn't know romance if it bit him on the butt so generally
speaking, I don't get anything.-=-
You're not his mother.
-=-Yesterday I got to thinking about the purpose of Mother's Day.
What is it?
Well, of course, everyone knows that it is a day to honor mothers.
To show
them how much you appreciate them, right?
-=-
Originally, I think it involved a pancake breakfast moms didn't have
to make. In England. What's that called? There's a pancake day.
It wasn't called "Mother's Day."
And now it's restaurants, because families won't even make some
friggin' PANCAKES.
Now I'm feeling like a martyr.
(Just joking.)
I reminded my husband to get his mom a card, as usual. I picked it
out while he stood around, and then he approved it, as usual. For
mother's day every year for most of 30 years, I've helped make sure I
could keep access to my Keith (he wasn't my husband for all of those
years) in peace by helping him placate his mother.
Seeing that, I don't mind when Keith reminds the kids to do something
for mother's day and they say "Like what?" Sometimes I get cards or
little gifts, but usually I get a sweet little speech about them not
knowing what to do or give me and me saying I'm just glad we're all
together in peace and love or something equally "I don't know either."
Feeling needy can happen even with grown women, and Amanda's right
that the best thing to do is the find ways to be grateful and
fulfilled rather than empty and expectant and disappointed and pissed
off.
Sandra
and devoted
husband wouldn't know romance if it bit him on the butt so generally
speaking, I don't get anything.-=-
You're not his mother.
-=-Yesterday I got to thinking about the purpose of Mother's Day.
What is it?
Well, of course, everyone knows that it is a day to honor mothers.
To show
them how much you appreciate them, right?
-=-
Originally, I think it involved a pancake breakfast moms didn't have
to make. In England. What's that called? There's a pancake day.
It wasn't called "Mother's Day."
And now it's restaurants, because families won't even make some
friggin' PANCAKES.
Now I'm feeling like a martyr.
(Just joking.)
I reminded my husband to get his mom a card, as usual. I picked it
out while he stood around, and then he approved it, as usual. For
mother's day every year for most of 30 years, I've helped make sure I
could keep access to my Keith (he wasn't my husband for all of those
years) in peace by helping him placate his mother.
Seeing that, I don't mind when Keith reminds the kids to do something
for mother's day and they say "Like what?" Sometimes I get cards or
little gifts, but usually I get a sweet little speech about them not
knowing what to do or give me and me saying I'm just glad we're all
together in peace and love or something equally "I don't know either."
Feeling needy can happen even with grown women, and Amanda's right
that the best thing to do is the find ways to be grateful and
fulfilled rather than empty and expectant and disappointed and pissed
off.
Sandra
m_aduhene
--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
> Originally, I think it involved a pancake breakfast moms didn't havepancake day? shrove tuesday?
> to make. In England. What's that called? There's a pancake day.
> It wasn't called "Mother's Day."
Sandra Dodd
-=-pancake day? shrove tuesday?-=-
Probably...
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Probably...
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]