Why Celebrating Mother’s Day is Important

Happy Mother’s Day!

I have been in the mood for Mother’s Day since last week.

Last weekend was Mother’s Day in Portugal, and as you know, being Portuguese, my mom, my family, and my friends are there, so the celebration has already started!

At home, we celebrate Mother’s Day tomorrow, May 9th, as my children have all the related activities at school during this week.

This post is about celebration.

Generally, we have busy lives that we forget about the nice part: celebration!

One of the main reasons celebrating is so important is because it reflects an overall attitude of gratitude and enjoying what we have.

When we commemorate a special occasion, we are essentially placing a mental bookmark on an experience, thereby building a milestone in the story of your life.

So Mother’s Day is one of those milestones to be celebrated.

Such an important one, right?

Therefore, please celebrate it the best way you like!

I remember during my childhood, a week before Mother’s Day we would spend crafting the Mother’s Day present, like something very elaborate and so creative!

And then I remember having a lovely meal at home with the family.

I have such great memories of that time, the expectations of my mom opening the crafted gift with a postal card done at school, and then her happy smile, giving us non-stop kisses on our cheeks.

Normally, I would bake a cake or something similar, as I was the baker at home, and we would spend 3 hours at the dinner table talking!

Then we grew up. There were no longer crafted gifts for our mom during Middle/High School, so either we would do it or buy it.

I am the eldest sister of two, so I would be in charge of the purchase. My dad used to give me money, and he would tell me to buy a card and something I would like.

Well, in middle school, I thought giving a present that my mom occasionally mentioned she needs would be the right thing. Also, all the commercials I saw on the television for Mother’s Day were all about household appliances, all convenient to moms doing a better job day-to-day!

So I remember buying a “123”, which was a meat grinder (we all loved burgers and bolognese), a juice blender (we all loved natural fruit juices), and a portable cordless handheld vacuum cleaner!

I know!!! Please don’t judge me! My mom would be so happy!

I already apologized to my mom several times!

But you know, she always told me she loved it and it was the best at that time! So we used to celebrate with those presents, and they were all extraordinary moments.

I am so happy for living the times we are living and having the privilege to think differently!

If my children give me a vacuum cleaner, I would be very clear to let them know and teach them it is not a present! aka I would freak out! LOL.

Nowadays, my definition of celebrating is about living moments of reunion with my family and friends. And if it is Mother’s Day, it’s about having a special moment only for the MOTHER. Like, a good experience of self care, a day in spa, or even buying a nice accessory.

Last year, I wanted to leave the house and go to NYC. My husband was afraid of going to the big city, so we went to the Liberty Park where you can see the downtown landscape of NYC.

We parked the car, still not used to wearing masks, and went for a walk.

We saw a family of 5. The father was with the 3 small children and the mom was laying down on the grass reading.

I heard one of the children running and calling mom in the direction of this lady laid down in a pretty yellow blanket on the grass with the NYC landscape behind. The dad ran after the child and said, “don’t bother mom please, it’s her day!”

I smiled at her, and she said it was her special day, going out with the family, but also having some peace and time out from running around for one hour! I laughed!

Each person has a desire to do something different.

For me, what is more important about the celebration is the gathering. Not really the presents.

If you know the 5 Languages of Love, I am totally Quality Time, and zero on Gifts.

So I prefer to invest in doing something with my family, going to a different place, eating something different, and having a good experience and memory together.

The most important thing is you feel you are celebrating, and building these extraordinary moments of your life!