Mother's Day

If you haven't realized that today's Mother's Day, one of the most bogus holidays of all time, you must have been hiding in a cave somewhere. (Is there room for me in there??)

I hate bogus holidays, and Mother's Day and Father's Day top the list. Think about it: a single day each year to honor your mother and your father. And then what? You can ignore them and neglect them and fight with them the rest of the year without feeling guilty?

I'm so tired of all the commercials for cards, flowers, chocolates, jewelry, overnight getaways, romantic dinners . . . Sheesh! Why don't they just be honest and say, "If you love your mother, then come drop $$ at Hallmark/Godiva/FTD/etc. And if you don't spend the money, what does that say about you?"

Yeah, yeah. F*ck you. I see and talk to my mom four or five times a week. I take her to rehab and physical therapy and doctor's appointments and shopping and visiting. She doesn't need a bouquet of flowers and a sappy card to know I love her. (Though, okay, she does love those sappy cards. And since I like the funny/rude/irreverent ones, shopping for them ain't easy.)

Whatever I do -- or don't do -- today has nothing to do with how I feel about Mom. Ditto for the kiddo. I don't know whether he'll call -- don't know if he'll even remember the day. Sometimes he remembers; sometimes he doesn't. (Ironically, he remembered when he was in Iraq and Afghanistan. Does getting shot at jog your memory or make you long for the safety of home?) What's more, I don't care whether he calls today. I'd be just as happy to talk to him on any of the other thirty days of this month.

If we have to even have a Mother's Day and Father's Day -- and, apparently, we do -- I wish next year everyone in the entire country would spend the day as it should be spent: remembering/honoring/recognizing your mother and father. Not buying cards, flowers, aftershave, ties, candy, tools or anything else. Just children and their parents having a nice time while the commercialization of the days goes down the drain.

That would be too cool. Rachel8:58 AM