In our family, when I was growing up, we weren’t too big on celebrations. The main festivals and birthdays were definitely made special, usually by modest gifts and perhaps a meal out to a favored restaurant! When the Archie’s and Hallmark cards and other sundry brands manufactured several new occasions to celebrate, we hardly ever subscribed to these and Mothers’ Day fell into this category of occasions to be scoffed at, made fun of, acknowledged but not made a big deal of.

Now I’m a mother myself; the institution of motherhood signifies a great deal more to me than it did before. I have come to appreciate in the past few years that the mother-child relationship is at once the strongest and yet, the most sensitive in our lives. My children instinctively know when I am sad or upset, even when I think I’m outwardly normal in my behavior. My mother always knows my moods, even if she has the sense to not question me about them all the time, but only when she really feels I need the concern. As a mother, I feel responsible for my children and give them the kind of unconditional love I didn’t think existed before I had them.

It’s true. No matter how old we grow, mothers will remain the bedrock of our emotional world. And so, in that spirit, we did celebrate Mothers’ Day today. Four mothers and some of their brood dined out, laughed together and cemented the only relationship in the world that probably does not need the cement!