A picture of my mom in her 70s, this is a woman known for: ditching US occupied Japan after WWII for a scholarship in the enemy country; overflowing a clawfoot bathtub and flooding and blacking out an entire convent after crying herself to sleep thinking she’d made the worst choice ever by going to the US; being stared at waiting in the coloreds waiting room in segregated Kentucky; starting pro-choice fights at weddings; being a mother to four children, which she claims was the most rewarding, infuriating and hardest thing she’d ever done in her life.
This Sunday is UK Mothering Day, one of three Mother’s Days I get to celebrate throughout the year. Nigeria, Ireland, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey also celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, while the US, Japan and at least 96 other countries celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May (May 8th this year) and France and at least 13 other countries celebrate Mother’s Day on the final Sunday of May, or on the following Sunday in June when the final Sunday of May is the Pentecost (June 5th this year). In looking up Mother’s Day dates for this year, a habit I got into since, ahem, missing my French Mother-in-Law’s Day, I found that there’s a Mother’s Day around the world in all months except January and September, which really means that you can celebrate Mother’s Day in every month of the year.
So mother or child, here’s a haiku for you to stride into this Sunday! Happy Mother’s Day!
For mothers who live
For their kids and kids who live
For their mothers – Live
Happy Mother’s Day
Be crazy Be lazy – Be
Anything you want
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