Circle of life

There's much ado about 'Mother's Day' as just commercial hype but I like to think of it as an opportunity to feel close to those women who have brought us life.

Perhaps it relates to the fact that neither my husband nor I come from families who were partial to big celebrations, but we've always made a big deal about birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day. We've gone to the effort of finding just the right gift, and that doesn't necessarily mean an expensive gift at all.

My days of receiving gifts from the Mother's Day stall at the school are, to my regret, now over. I treasure all those gifts given to me with love, all of which were bought for under $20. The pink bear from my daughter sits on the chair beside by bed. The green purse given to me by my youngest son holds my gym card, change and house key. The evening bag my middle son gave me is the one I reach for when we go to an event and each day I make use of the container my eldest son bought me which I fill with hand lotion. As I sit here typing I am surrounded by pieces of their artwork from school, all of which I cherish.

I've collected all the cards the children have given me over the years and they are housed in a special box that my husband found at a fair. Nowadays, my daughter makes up a special big card herself and she gets her brothers to write a special message in it to me. If you were to read the messages you would see just how individual my children are and how their messages all have their own unique style. Yet, they convey the same message and that is that they are grateful for the love I give them.

I write these words in this journal at the crack of dawn. It is Mother's Day now in my part of the world but it is also a day of celebration for someone else and we must travel as a family to participate in that celebration later this morning. But, before that we will meet at our favourite breakfast cafe to spend time together as a family on our own. None of us wanted the day to go by without that time together that I think we all need. For thousands of years, people have broken bread together and food continues to be the way we come together to celebrate life. Gathering as a family for dinner is an important part of our everyday and a significant factor in our sense of connection.

I'm not going to say that a gift is unnecessary. I think a mother, whatever her age, deserves a commemoration of the day; whether that be a bunch of flowers from the garden or something more elaborate, or even to remember to call home. It is sense of connection with her family that she really craves. And so, when it is light and before we leave the house for the day, of course I will call my mother and arrange to meet her this week to share time together with her and bring a small gift.

Yes, mothers can be frustrating, annoying and difficult. They can be demanding and suffocating and pains in the neck. Yet, they give their love in abundance and ask only for a small portion back in return. This is the circle of life.

May you have a very happy Mother's Day!