An Ode Owed to Mothers

We owe mothers more than a day a year to honor them. Much more.

Mothers have the most difficult job in the world. Besides carrying us for nine months, going through labor pain and giving birth to us — how burdensome and painful that is I cannot even imagine — mothers’ work was not finished at our birth. The Bible says God created the universe in 6 days, but got to rest on the seventh day. Not the same for mothers: after carrying us for 9 months, they had no days off. Mothers are immediately tasked to tend to our needs 24×7. She cleaned and fed us, prepared and cooked our meals, cleaned our clothes, and taught us how to care for ourselves. She kept the house in order even when we were leaving it in shambles.

And she usually was the one — in my family at least — who had to say no when no was in order.

In short, mother was our full-time caregiver, and she was never paid for her invaluable labor.

Mom, I know you’re “gone” now, but I will never forget all that you have done for me. I will always be grateful. Forgive me for the all-too-many times that I didn’t appreciate what you were doing for me.

To all of you who still have moms, remember them by honoring them while they are still around. Don’t wait to remember them after their passing. To all you moms out there, I honor you! I bow in awe and respect for your love, strength and resilience. You are Divine! Even if you do not always succeed to act like a Divine being, you are Divine. You are a Goddess.

“Shakti, the creative and energetic force of the Divine, is described in Hindu scriptures as being a motherly Goddess, whose loving, nurturing, and sometimes fiercely protective qualities are integral to both the material and spiritual growth of every being.” ~ organiser.org (May 12, 2022), an English weekly published in India