A Toast to Mothers

 Happy Mother’s Day

Today I’ll like to make a toast. Let’s charge our glasses.

Being a mother has very little to do with the physical abilities to carry a baby within your womb but a lot about fulfilling the roles that a mother plays. No matter the way we look at it or claim to be fiercely feminist and anti-patriarchy, the fact that women are considered nurturers cannot be wished away. Whatever the concept of family that we may have, the notion of a mother is never far from our minds. We all want to have in our lives someone that has our backs at all times; someone who loves us despite our mistakes; someone who will love us enough to speak the truth to us; someone who will be on our side always.

This person does not have to be a woman or even be a biological mother. Many lives have been enriched by aunties, stepmoms, grandmothers, sisters, or even fathers, uncles, or brothers stepping up to the plate to fill the office of a mother. The most important thing is to have someone playing the role.

These roles often go unnoticed and unappreciated; they become taken for granted. This shouldn’t be so and thank God for a day like this. We all can take time out to honour and appreciate the mothers in our lives. Many of us don’t understand how difficult it is to be a mother until we get into that role. There may be the temptation to focus on the mistakes we believe they made as mothers but today is a day of honouring and not for dredging up the past. So please, make that phone call, the stores are still open – go buy that present, take her out to dinner. Cancel your appointments and spend quality time with her. Do something! The not-so-awesome thing about mothers is that like all people we don’t have them forever - so build beautiful memories while they are still here. And if you’ve missed the day, the week is still open.

Today, as we celebrate another Mother’s Day, let’s raise our glasses to the mothers in our lives – the ones who make us feel wanted and loved, the ones who protected us when we were helpless, and the ones who keep rooting for us until they draw their last breath – our mothers. To our mothers in whatever forms we may have them in our lives, we say thank you.

To mothers!

Happy Mother’s Day.

 God bless you all for us.