Reflection on Mother's Day 2021

Today, May 2nd, 2021, here in Portugal we celebrate Mother’s Day. It’s a time of joy and happiness where you’re supposed to show appreciation for your mother and everything she has done for you, or is it?

I’ll preface the rest of this blog post by saying that I love my mother dearly, even if sometimes I seclude myself in my room for days on end, talk back to her or if I’m a jerk in general to her. (Here’s to you, mom, for putting up with me all these years, even when I didn’t deserve it. Thank you for everything, and I hope that I can always be a son who you’re proud of)

Like Father’s day, for me, it feels a bit disheartening to celebrate Mother’s day as well, not because you shouldn’t show appreciation for your parents and all the times they had to put up with you, but rather because it’s not something that everyone can do. Take, for example, someone who hasn’t seen their mother in ages, be it due to their parents separating, their mother having, unfortunately, passed away, or if they never knew their mother. How do you think that they’re going to feel when they see everyone in their social media feed posting pictures of their mothers, along with some loving caption like “My dearest mother” or the likes. Miserable, depressed, they’ll feel deprived of the enjoyment from a seemingly happy day that everyone else is collectively experiencing.

I’m not saying that none should post pictures or appreciation messages, far from it. What I propose is for celebratory days like these to be renamed to something else more all-encompassing, so that more people can reminisce and show appreciation about people who loved them and helped them.

If you consider your grandmother, neighbor, or whomever else to be your mother, you’re just as valid as everyone. In the end, nothing matters more than your feelings, and on occasions like these, we should all be celebrating people who were there for us(even if they might not be here anymore).