Yesterday was just an ordinary day for me, even though it was Mother’s Day. I woke early with the lils while Willy slept in.  He still needs tonnes of rest following his surgery, so we snuck downstairs and I made their breakfast, then breakfast in bed for my mom, before moving on to the cleaning and laundry that needed to be done. We then headed to an awesome brunch hosted by my brother-in-law and niece, before we returned home to more normal. Play, tidy, cook, clean, then bedtime. At this minute, we aren’t in any place to be able to celebrate Mother’s Day by lavishing attention on me, but I understand that, and care more about getting Willy back to 100% than anything else.

As much as my day was less than ideal, I am grateful for all that Willy and the lils bring to my life.  I also know that Mother’s Day is always hard for some people. Among my friends, there are those who are estranged from their mothers and/or children, who have lost their mother, their mother-in-law, or one or more of their children. There are also those who desperately want to be mothers, but for whatever cruel reason they are unable to have children. For these women, and many more, yesterday is not just about celebrating.  For some it is not about celebrating at all.

With this in my mind, I popped online in the morning, and was surprised by two messages that I saw recurring in my feeds. The first was a call to honour women who are childless by choice, as they should not be forgotten. This made me pause, as yesterday was not Women’s day, it was Mother’s Day, and women who are self-declared to be childless by choice have decided that they don’t want to be mothers.  Why, then, should they be included? Would they even want to be??

The second was the inclusion of single parent dads in the celebrations for Mother’s Day.  Don’t get me wrong, I have all the respect in the world for single parents. Quite frankly, I have no idea how they do all that they do for their children without the help and support of a partner.  It amazes me. I am stuck, however, by the notion that fathers should be honoured on Mother’s Day. There are a number of reasons why this is wrong; the most glaring of these is that single fathers are honoured.  On FATHER’S DAY.

So please, just let it go.  Mother’s Day is for honouring motherhood.  Sometimes it’s just not your day.