Mother's Day

I had a good mother's day.

My almost 5 year old son, gave me a dandelion wrapped in a tin foil and called it a flower bouquet :) My 17th month old was busy & kept of us to his beat. I think the best part was I chatted with my mom for more than 2 hours, recalling our bygone days, got nostalgic - we laughed and we cried. In the end, we thought we brewed the best of the day!

Although initially I had chucked away this whole concept of "mothers day", since we all say " we love mothers EVERY DAY", I think there is more to this feeling than just being one more Hallmark card day.

Too often, things that are routine are taken for granted, just as this one. Mothers are mothers , and yes forever. So why a specific day and what on that day. I think doing anything special this day, something to show your love , just as you would celebrate somebody's graduation or somebody's wedding, I think just for one day, to quietly sit back and give a tribute in your own small way is a good opportunity to express all those zillion feelings the word "mother" could mean to us.

This reminds me of the discussion at Chinmaya Mission on following rituals if one has reaslised the essence. My stance continues to be same that - rituals - in terms of actions - always help draw us to the thought and keep us anchored more strongly . I think it's upto us to choose how we want to do it and does not necessarily translate to a lavish lunch or a Swedish massage.

But come to think of it,  Lives have gotten so busy that, there will soon be "Talk to your neighbor day" or  a "No TV day". My personal favorite would be "Handwritten mail day"!

My confession for today is, I tried to give my mom a break from cooking, which she has been since she landed here, but I failed! She managed to cook a couple , but I am glad that we went out for the dinner.

I thank my Mother who helped me walk through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and now, my own motherhood :) I don't think I would have survived without her - no pun intended.

In appreciation to everything that is a Mother, including Mother Nature and Mother earth, below are a few verses sent by my sister and I thought they were perfect!

BEFORE I WAS A MOM

Before I was a Mom;
I made and ate hot meals,
I had unstained clothing,
I brushed my hair every day,
I had quiet conversations on the phone,
I slept as late as I wanted and I slept all night long.

Before I was a Mom;
I cleaned my house each day,
I never tripped over toys or forgot lullabies,
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous,
I had never been puked on, pooped on, spit on, chewed on, peed on, orpinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom;
I never thought about immunizations,
I never held a screaming child so the doctors could give shots,
I never looked into teary eyes and cried,
I never felt my heart break into pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt,
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

Before I was a Mom;
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down,
I never sat up late hours of the night watching a baby sleep,
I never got up in the middle of the night to make sure everything was okay,
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

Before I was a Mom;
I had complete control of my mind, my thoughts and my body,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside of my body,
I didn't know that having something so small could make me feel soimportant,
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,the wonderment, or the satisfaction of being a mom.

Before I was a Mom;
I never knew that something so small could effect my life so much,
I never knew that I could love someone so much,
I never knew I would love being a Mom,
I didn't know the bond between a Mother and her child,
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much.


Wishing all mothers and soon to-be mothers a very Happy Mother's Day!