Monday Morning Smile XIV Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day+1 everyone. I hope everyone treated their mother to a great day.

Is it just me or does summer smell like it’s around the corner. All the signs are there, kids are more reluctant than normal to get to homework, the grass needs cutting twice a week, the baseball schedules are in full swing, and of course the official signal of summer – the pool gets opened.

In honour of all things mother, here are some famous ones (and maybe some not so famous ones). A couple should be easy as pie, a couple probably impossible (but still interesting), and three of them are thought of as mothers even though they bore no children (and no, not the biblical pics).

I’ll throw a couple of hints your way. There are three Canadians on the list, only one of which still lives here though. There’s also a stepmother, a royal who was recently portrayed in the movie “The King’s Speech”, and a woman once labeled ‘the most dangerous woman in America”.

Ever wonder how Mother’s Day got started? Me too. Let’s find out together – this afternoon.

I hope everyone has a great week,

Dave

1. Anna Jarvis – the Mother of Mother’s Day. Anna wanted a memorial to her mother after her death and campaigned to have Mother’s day recognised officially. She was successful, but later became disgusted with the commercialisation of the holiday and spent her whole family inheritance campaigning against the Day – she died in poverty. She never married and had no children. Be careful what you wish for – it may come true !!

2. Queen Mum – beloved mother of current Queen Elizabeth. Anybody watch the movie the “King’s Speech”? After Edward abdicated to be with his American divorceee, King George came to the throne and the future “Queen Mum

  3. Mother Teresa – Albanian by birth, and on her way to becoming a saint. She has one miracle to her credit and needs one more documented to become a saint. As a nun, she had no family of her own of course but was renowned for embracing Calcutta and all of India’s poor as her “Family”. Her Nobel Peace prize was probably hawked for money to buy food for the poor. The world can always use another Mother Teresa.

4. Virgin Mary – the original Madonna. Traipses around the countryside on a donkey, gives birth in a barn, and then has visitors bearing gifts same day (kings no less) when all she wants is a bit of a rest. She deserves a day off. I wonder if she thinks it’s cool that a famous singer took her name. Does that violate any copyright?

5. Prithvi – Eastern goddess of mother earth, wife of Father Sky – I guess these two have got it all covered. She can take the form of a sacred cow to provide nourishment. Don’t mess with Mother Nature!!

6. Eve (of the Adam & Eve) – She’s still blaming Adam for taking the forbidden fruit and getting kicked out of The Garden of Eden. His fault.

7. Maria von Trapp – Everyone has seen the great Christmas movie The Sound of Music. Maria von Trapp (played by Julie Andrews in the movie) gave stepmothers a great name. This is the real Maria von Trapp

8. Shania Twain. Did you recognise her? Born in Windsor and growing up in poverty in Timmins she had a very difficult early life. She persevered. She has pictures all over the web of course, but you are hard pressed to find many pictures of her son. She keeps him out of the spotlight as much as possible, even moving to Switzerland to keep a low profile for her family. A Canadian icon. Here’s hoping her comeback is a smashing success

9. Indira Ghandi – a powerful women world leader – and a mom. Following her father – India’s first Prime Minister, she won elections as Prime Minister four times. Unfortunately, she was assasinated by her Sikh bodyguards during her fourth term. Unfortunately both her sons also lost their lives in separate incidences.

10. Mary Harris Jones – “the most dangerous woman in America”. She was once quoted as saying that “You don’t need the vote to raise hell!” (women did not have the right to vote at that time).

Mary lost her husband and four children which had to be crushing. She turned her considerable skills to supporting a movement to make the workplace safe and to abolish child labour in Pennsylvania mines. Establishment of the times – mine owners, politicians, etc. labeled her as “the most dangerous woman in America”. And children laugh, play, and go to school in no small part because of women like Mary.

11. Celine Dion – French Canadian songstress. Holds I don’t know how many gold and platinum records. She has been a superstar for what seems like forever. The youngest of 14 (!) from a small town in Quebec. She has tried to keep her family as removed from the paparazzi and superstar spotlight as much as possible and is a big reason why she moved to Europe. She has been quoted as saying I am a mother first, wife second, and singer third. I don’t know about you, but she should let her son cut his hair!!

And best of all – my mom. Love always.     (and nope, that’s not me, it’s my brother and sister).