A Single Mom Alone on Mother's Day

Mother duck with ducklings

Not every mother gets to celebrate or feel good about Mother's Day. I saw a mother with her two daughters today (Mother's Day 2012) and Mom was definitely not being feted. The three sat on the grass, with the kids reading books. The mother was working on a laptop computer. The trio stayed in these psychologically locked and upright positions for most of the afternoon. They left the grassy area around dinner time. During the afternoon, my thoughts returned to the seemingly unwanted mother. This must have been an emotionally tough day for her, and quite possibly for her two daughters.

I've never liked the concept of Mother's Day. When I taught English to recently arrived immigrants, students celebrated International Women's Day. My female colleagues received flowers and a certain extra respect that was touching. The day seemed more humane to me, and made much more sense than the greeting card monster Mother's Day has become in the States.

Americans don't really acknowledge International Women's Day. Instead, our country's women get acknowledgment on Mother's Day. And there's the rub. American women have to be maternal adults to earn a day of respect; otherwise, it's tough luck. Americans go through all sorts of painful hoops to celebrate Mother's Day. When I lived in Italy, Mother's Day simply did not exist, even though Italian moms have legendary familial pull. Well, like it or not, Mother's Day is an American institution. I just wonder how the left-out moms felt today.