When DS was 4, the eye doctor (neurological Opthamologist - he was considered good- later I saw Dudley Moore in his waiting room - he had some htrrible eye disease) flunked him on an eye test with Disney characters, telling me poor kids got nothing right. I told him we didn't do Disney, kid had no idea who anyone was. Given test with E's, kid aced it. Mother's Day is like that. Not our yardstick of success.

I guess I have my reasons for not enjoying Mother's Day. Fortunately my daughter is good about it but...........It reminds me of my loss..............
Miss you, Mom

(((((Karilann)))))

My Mom's been gone eleven years. After about the 700th yapping face on tv (news as well as ads) telling me "call your mom", "take your mom out to dinner", etc. I was ready to throw a rock at somebody.

Mothers day for me too is somber. I have one good son who really cares, and another child that wrote me out of her life. I miss this child each and every day I am alive. It is a torture to know she is alive and I am not allowed in her life. This has occured the last 9 years. A mothers love is unconditional for the most part, and I still love and miss this wayword daughter. ginnie

my relationship with my mum is a train wreck. As long as I have money in my pocket, or am willing to bail out DS (sis) who is a horrible prescription/illegal drug addict then all is well. it took decades for me to realize that it was ME that had to change. I do try to keep contact with mum as she isnt well. Polio did some bad damage to her as a child and I have believe it did brain damage, as she is inappropriate many times, and its the only thing that makes sense. I want badly to have a mom in my life. I have worked for decades to try to force her to love me. She isnt going to. She is always on the ready to rescue DS and my neice. She is always on the ready to tell me exactly what she thinks of me.

So, yeah, mothers day is a tough one. I really do want/need a mom in my life, but unless I pick a new one, this one isnt going to step up. Decades of tears helped me see this. I did send her flowers. She wanted to know exactly what I sent to MIL to make sure her gift was bigger. Was angry that my DS added his name to my gift and was upset that he didnt send a gift of his own. When asked what DS sent, I was told she didnt have to send anything, as she hasnt been feeling well. sigh. so...mothers day is tough here too.

I personally don't like Mother's Day either. If it were really for moms, the husbands would take the kids out to the park or something and let mom go to the spa or the bookstore or the winery or whatever she wanted! Instead, we have to get up early, get everybody all prettied up for a specially dressy day at church, take fake smily pictures, go to a crowded restaurant, and try to keep the kids from killing each other during the two hours it takes to actually get the food. I was threatening death and dismemberment to anyone who disrupted my naptime that day.

I can take Mother's Day or leave it. It does seem like one of those holidays--like Valentine's Day, Father's Day and others--that are commercialized to the point where they lose their meaning.

I wish we didn't have ads everywhere blasting at us about these holidays--how we ought to go buy this or that, just to show somebody we care.

All of this hoopla has to hurt the many women who don't have Mother's Day--women who wanted kids but kids didn't happen, women whose relationships with their kids went haywire, often for reasons beyond their control, women whose kids didn't live.

If the businesses could just do less advertising and promotion, people who want to observe Mother's Day can go into a store and find a gift or a card and quietly deliver it to the mom. The rest of the population doesn't need to be inundated with all of these reminders.

I have similar problems with St. Patrick's Day. I see no reason why the Irish should have a special day--with advertising and promotion for it too of course--when no other group does. It's just one more excuse for advertising. Oh, and everything has to be green. Pastel colors for Easter. Red for Valentine's Day. People know about these colors, and when they see them on display in stores, they know right away what holiday they're being asked to buy things for.

Yes, these holidays do make shopping more varied and interesting, but they're also a form of pressure I could do without.

Uh, real Irish don't drink green beer or really eat corned beef. It's not what the Irish do. DH and I made and drank Margaritas on Cinquo de Mayo and truly neither of us believe this is what goes on in Mexico that day. My Irish aunties and I sat and had a cuppa (tea) sometimes, but even our drunks didn't drink green beer. (That part about the Irish might be true, we had a lot of them and tee(tea)totalers (dry).) Green is a Hallmark moment. Those green beer people are just amateurs playing at being Irish. I'm a real motha, I don't need Mother's day. Years of Infertility made me cry every Mother's Day.

I like the cartoon of St. Patty driving the snakes out of Ireland. Shows them in the back-seat saying "Are we there yet?" and "I have to go to the bathroom". Combines both Holidays!