Column: Mother’s Day isn’t always about Breakfast in Bed
Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 11, 2002
It began in the U.S. with a woman named Anna Jarvis. She was trying to raise public awareness about the poor health conditions in her community. She believed that mothers would be the best advocate so she picked a date and named it &uot;Mother’s Work Day&uot;.
And I thought that was everyday!
The idea caught on. Several years later President Woodrow Wilson designated the second Sunday in May as &uot;Mother’s Day&uot;.
Today, we use Mother’s Day as a public expression of our love and appreciation for our mothers – a day that allows her to be pampered with breakfast in bed and sentimental cards and gifts.
But while other moms may be smelling the aroma of fresh brewed coffee in the comforts of their sleigh bed, this mom will be fishing up north for walleyes in a Ranger 620. You guessed it &045; the fishing opener conveniently coincides with Mother’s Day weekend. Although, I doubt a woman had anything to do with that!
Going fishing together on Mother’s Day is a tradition that my husband and I started when it was just the two of us. It sounded like a good idea. Neither one of us lived close enough to our mothers to spend the day with them.
The fishing trip became a time for us to bond and enjoy the outdoors together. And although for me it meant getting up early and going to a smelly bait shop, for him it was a race to be the first on the water and a chance to share a favorite past time with his wife.
Either way, the tradition is still alive and well.
Don’t feel sorry for me though. I still get my share of pampering. It was just last year that I got a new G-Loomis rod for Mother’s Day! Actually, he knows better. I may be trading in my warm breakfast in bed for a granola bar out on a lake, but it’s the time spent together that matters to me.
It’s no wonder why telephone lines record the highest traffic today and restaurants record this as the most popular day of the year to dine out. There’s something special about our moms. So if you haven’t done so already, pick up the phone and tell your mother how much she means to you.
And I better remember to call my mom before the day is over &045; to wish her a happy Mother’s Day and to tell her about the fish I caught!
Christine Moser is the publisher of the Albert Lea Tribune.