Current mood:

amused

Oh the funny.
It should be no surprise to people that I am not a fan of the "Hallmark Holidays". I far prefer to celebrate the "big" holidays and then pass on affection, presents and such as I'm struck by good avenues through which to do so. (This opposed to following the plan set forth for me by the holiday-centric businesses) Even so - I don't tend to disLIKE things like Valentine's or Mother's Day or anything.

A did, however, have an amusing realization this weekend. Hearing the Mothers Day plans of many of my friends, it struck me how often those plans were (in essence) a negation of the typical "Mom Duties". I shall use the most striking example...

"Oh it's great! We (dan_oz: the couple in question) got a room in a hotel for the weekend and we're gonna spend the whole time relaxing together while our parents keep the kids." So ... you're celebrating Mother's Day by dumping your kids off? And, amusingly, by dumping the kids with one of your mothers? Ha!

That got me thinking though, what the heck IS Mother's Day about these days? Gender roles are blurred enough, now, that the role of "mother" isn't really a solid concept. I think that the point is simply to show appreciation for those caregivers that saw you through your early life - which is a worthy sentiment - but the whole thing is so hijacked by businesses looking to capitalize that it's not worth acknowledging.

I'd much rather go shoot virtual zombies with Mom at an arcade sometime than worry about carving out specific time on May 13th to make sure that she knows I love her. Really, if she's not sure I love her then I was doing something wrong - and if Mother's Day appreciation ... stuff ... was going to be enough to make the difference, then she's incredibly fickle!

Whaaaaatever. I'm rambling now - but like I said, it struck me as incredibly funny that the so many celebrations of mothers seemed to revolve around relieving them of that stigma.