Mother's Day: Make It Count. (original) (raw)

Brunch, bouquets, and bling on Mother's Day are nice, but "Please don't buy me anything," is my anti-rallying cry. However, TV commercials always win out, and, consequently, closets of unworn bathrobes grow fuller every year.

In an effort to dissuade my kids from commercialism ("How about just writing me a mushy note" falls on deaf ears), I sought facts to combat their guilt-generated generosity.

Mother's Day actually started in the 1850s when a West Virginia woman, Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis, recruited mothers to help combat tuberculosis and other diseases, which then, in 1861, segued into helping both Union and Confederate soldiers, injured or ill, during the Civil War. That became women taking active political roles in promoting peace. True bipartisanship. It was her daughter, Anna Jarvis, who got Woodrow Wilson to make Mother's Day a national holiday in 1908. Is it an accidental irony that Wilson proclaimed Sundays for this holiday? But never mind that. It didn't take very long to become commercialized; last year, Americans spent $20 Billion on Mother's Day gifts, according to the National Retail Federation. A far cry from the selfless work of Mrs. Jarvis, and the recognition sought for her by her daughter, Ms. Jarvis.