The majority of countries that celebrate Mother's Day do so on the second Sunday of May. On this day, it is common for Mothers to be lavished with presents and special attention from their families, friends and loved ones. But it wasn't always this way.
Only recently dubbed “Mother's Day,” the highly traditional practice of honoring Motherhood is rooted in antiquity, and past rites typically had strong symbolic and spiritual overtones; societies tended to celebrate Goddesses and symbols rather than actual Mothers. The maternal objects of adoration ranged from mythological female deities to the Christian Church itself. The personal, human touch to Mother’s Day is a relatively new phenomenon. Only in the past few centuries did celebrations of Motherhood develop a decidedly human focus.
That human focus for me is shown in this photograph. I am the baby. Two more younger brothers came after me. Our mother was a tireless worker and loved us all with her whole being. Keeping up with the demands of the farm home, the school work, the church going, discipline, and cooking non-stop must have been exhausting. My brother said we had a wringer clothes washer at the time of this picture. I remember always having three long clothes lines in the yard, usually drooping under the weight of our clothes.
In addition to the duties and pleasures of being our mother, she also kept some diary and journal entries for some occasions. Below the squiggle is a note transcribed from her journal exactly as she wrote it. It clearly expresses the events of the special day.
Mothers Day - May - 1947
7 children - oldest is 12 - Jim, baby, 3 mos., 4 yr. old twins
7:15 A.M. Got up
Made coffee & got breakfast
Put a roast in the oven
Made 2 salads
Bathed & dressed Jimmy - the baby
The kids gave me my Mothers Day gifts
Martha is sick & about to throw up
Ronnie broke a shoe lace in his Sunday shoes
Janie upset half a gallon of milk on the floor & table
Got them off to church
Martha is sick again
Called Mom & wished her a happy day
Made the beds - one was wet so it was all to change
Took 34 diapers off the rack & folded them
Washed the breakfast dishes
Dusted the floors
11 o'clock
John & the kids are home from church - My folks came with them
Got dinner & did up the dishes then we went to Blandinsville
Took Grandma Ruebush her Mothers Day gift
Helen & Wendell & Grandpa & Grandma Ruebush came out for the evening.
Wendell fixed our yard light & we made a freezer of ice cream.
Helen & Grandma R. & I took my folks home to Raritan
Came back and visited a while and they all left.
Got the kids off to bed and went myself.
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My love and respect goes to Melanie for being the wonderful mother of our children. They are blessed. Thank you for all you do. Happy Mother's Day. oxoxox