|
A special Mother's Day Gift make a donation in her name to help women in need from war torn countries
Parents Help Your Kids Learn ABC's and Spelling
Premier learning tools help kids excel.
|
Parent to Parent
An Old-Fashioned Mother's Day
by Patti Hermes
 Julia Ward Howe, well-known as the writer of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, wrote the original Mothers Day Proclamation in 1870. Hardly a request for more attention from her children, it was a call to women everywhere to come together for an international conference for peace. She organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, MA for several years.
Later, in Philadelphia, Ana Jarvis began her campaign for a national Mother's Day, to be celebrated on the anniversary of her own mother's death, the 2nd Sunday in May. She petitioned churches to organize the holiday, in recognition of her mother's years as a Sunday School teacher, and encouraged mothers to wear white carnations so they could be appropriately recognized in their churches.
In 1914, Julia Ward Howe's call for a Mothers Day for Peace became simply Mother's Day, complete with flowers, much as we know it today. A quick Google search for Mother's Day today will suggest the right flower arrangements, chocolate and even spa treatments to make your mother feel "special".
I'll tell you what would make me feel special, and it doesn't come from Target. Let's start with world peace, as envisioned by Julia Ward Howe. Not just peace in Iraq, and wherever else our US troops may be stationed, but throughout the entire world. No sense in limiting ourselves, it is Mother's Day after all. Just the thought that I would no longer have to worry about my boys someday being ordered to kill in the name of our government makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Let's not stop there. Mothers everywhere need a break. Nothing special, just the same as every other working person. I'll start with equal access to jobs, freedom from hiring discrimination on the basis of motherhood, equal pay for equal work, pretty basic stuff. And then the biggie for working parents: safe, affordable, quality child care and after school programs. Now really, is that too much to ask? Of course not!
But wait, there's more! In countries around the globe, mothers and their children make up the bulk of those living in poverty. So my Mother's Day wish is for not a single belly to go hungry, not a single infant to suffer for lack of basic medical care, not a single child left to care for tiny siblings, and access to schooling and books for children everywhere. That's boys AND girls, and their parents.
Looking back at my list, it all comes down to one thing: Peace in this world, now and forever. Happy Mothers Day for Peace!
Comment Script
Comments
This comment form is powered by GentleSource Comment Script. It can be included in PHP or HTML files and allows visitors to leave comments on the website.
|
|
| Patti Hermes is a freelance writer and columnist, specializing in family and parenting subjects and works for children, as well as essays and a blog, Writes For Chocolate. She works at home where she referees two spirited little boys and occasionally their father. Originally from Massachusetts, she and her husband of eighteen years are now raising their happy family in the Midwest. To read more visit her on the web at
http://writesforchocolate.blogspot.com
|