A New Mother’s Day Tradition

I cleaned out my fridge today.  It’s not an activity that I have time or motivation for.  It took almost 3 hours.  Granted, it had been over a year since the last deep clean.  My mother used to clean my fridge.  She would just come over and on a random day, be in the fridge for something – declare it “disgusting” and then roll up her sleeves and dig in.  Funny, the things you miss once your mom has passed on. 

In her honour today, I listed to The Beatles while I worked. I also enlisted my daughter’s help.  I figured maybe we could start a new tradition where she helps me clean the fridge.  I did have to bribe her with unlocking a unicorn app on her ipad to get help emptying and re-loading the fridge.  She also held the door on my many trips to the recycling bin once I had rinsed out all the expired jars.  So that’s something.

Given that Mother’s Day is approaching, that got me thinking, what do I want my daughter to remember me for?  What will make the highlight reel?

Then that got me thinking about all the Mothers that I have represented over the years.  The tears that have been shed over not being able to do things with their kids as they are growing up.  The guilt they feel when they ask their kids to take on more of the household chores.  The frustration at not being able to do the things other Moms are doing without pain or paying for it later.

The worry and stress on kids who have to watch their mother suffer.

The sadness in knowing that their kids will only know a mom who is injured.

The tragic cases where an accident takes away the ability for someone to become a mom at all.

If a mother is seriously injured, then there is the ability for the children to make a claim for loss of care, companionship and guidance of their mother.  Usually, this loss or change in parenting ability is compensated for under the mother’s own pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. While money is what the law can offer, it’s not a very satisfying substitute.

So back to the fridge and the things that Mothers do for us.   Things big and small that make a difference in our everyday lives. The selfless giving and sacrifices.  The love.

Happy Mother’s Day to all those who Mother!