Today is Mother’s Day. It’s the day when mums around the UK are showered with presents, inundated with flowers, spoilt with afternoon teas and paraded in pictures across social media – hashtag Mother’s Day.
It’s the annual celebration especially for women who make the decision to become mothers. I’m not saying they don’t deserve it, being a mum looks like bloody hard work (they should get an entire week); it just got me thinking about all the other ways we celebrate this choice: baby showers, gender reveal parties, Christenings or their non-religious equivalents and then the annual children’s birthday parties.
Once someone posts ‘I’m pregnant!’ on social media – the comments of ‘Congratulations!’ come thick and fast. It’s like a worldwide reflex response. That’s why you’ve never seen an advert for a pregnancy test where the negative result is the one the couple celebrate (but I’d love to by the way!).
When something is so easily celebrated it’s understandable that the opposite of that thing is met with confusion and resistance. Is the answer celebrating childfree people more? Apparently, there is an international childfree day on 1 August which was started by the National Organization for Non-Parents in the early 1970s, but I’d never heard of it before I started researching for my blog. I’m definitely owed a few cards, although I don’t know who would be expected to buy them. There is an Aunt and Uncle Day too but I’ve never seen that widely celebrated either.
Us childfree folk are always threatened with the fomo (fear of missing out) and so far it’s on the celebration front that this appears to ring true. So, there’s no wonder we’ve started celebrating ourselves instead.
I’ve seen childfree people throwing themselves ‘I’m not having a baby-showers’ (where the gifts are all things pregnant women and mothers can’t enjoy) and taking themselves out to mark anniversaries of their tubal litigations – but I’ve never seen a Hallmark card for either of those.
Mother’s Day is becoming increasingly more inclusive though. People seem more aware to acknowledge those people who may have lost their mothers, never had a good relationship with them or are struggling to become one. I’ve seen loads of tweets today that have been careful to use the phrase ‘Happy Mothering Sunday’ instead of Mother’s Day to celebrate anyone in their life that has provided them with love, warmth or guidance. I myself have wished all the mums, cat-mums, dog-mums, other pet mums and non-mums a great day today.
You don’t have to be a mother to be mothering; that is caring and affectionate. I hope all the women (and men) that have played that role are being celebrated today.
As for whether us childfree need our own Non-Mother’s Day; I don’t think we do. Most mums hope that on Mothering Sunday they’ll get some ‘me time’, a day off from the hard work of parenting and some peace and quiet. I get that every day and I love it. Plus, I even got a card from the cat.
Mrs.T x
What I did this week: I had a short but busy work week. I did have Friday off so took myself vintage clothes shopping in the daytime and then for some beers with friends to mark a friend’s one year anniversary of opening her own beer shop. On Saturday we spent the day in York with friends who were celebrating their birthdays. We went to Roots; an amazing restaurant by Michelin-starred Tommy Banks. It was our second visit and just as good as the first. Today, I spoke to my mum in the morning. She lives a few hours away but had a gift in the post. Mr.T went clothes shopping and we’ve been doing a bit of gardening together this afternoon #middleagedsunday.
What I didn’t do: Have to get my bathroom window replaced due to a small child and a pebble (but I know someone who did 😉)