A few years ago, I told my family that the gift-giving logic is flawed when it comes to the celebration of birthdays, Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.  It is our tradition that we receive gifts for our birthdays and we give gifts to our parents for Father’s/Mother’s Days.  Always the Devil’s Advocate, I said to my family that it seems strange to be receiving gifts on one’s birthday – as if we should be rewarded for having been born.  Wouldn’t it make more sense on our birthdays to be giving gifts to our parents? For without them, we would not be here.  And following this same logic, without us, our parents would not be parents, hence they should be giving us presents on Mother’s/Father’s Days!  OK, so this argument might be slightly flawed, too, if you are not the first-born (which I am not) because your parents are already parents even if you had not been born, so…

Putting aside my silliness (it runs in the family), Mother’s Day is a day we dedicate to show our love and appreciation for our mothers.  Of course, we should do this every single day and not just on one particular day, but it is still a good reminder to us of the sacrifices they have made for us and what they mean to us.  A mother is more than the woman who gave birth to us.  She has enormous responsibilities to raise and nurture us, and most importantly, to love us unconditionally.  For some, this person could be an aunt, a grandmother, a godmother, a step-mother, a foster-mother, an adoptive mother or a guardian.  And on this day, we recognise and show our appreciation for them all because they have made us who we are today.

My Mum with my Grandmother in the '50s

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