HISTORY stated that Mother’s Day was first celebrated when Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother by setting aside a day to honor all mothers, because she believed that a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world.”
In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers. It is now celebrated all over the world, including the Philippines.
So why is a day set aside to honor mothers?
If there is any woman who was the most influential in my life, it was my mother. There was a quote by Gregory Nun. It said, “Anyone who doesn’t miss the past never had a mother.”
When I think of the past, memories flood my heart with the many occasions when my mother would be there - good times and bad. She was my anchor, my lawyer, my protector, my consoler, my fountain of wisdom, my disciplinarian, my model, my educator, all the things that make a Mom, a total package mother.
I did not get everything that I wanted or understood why she had reservations, even restrictions, but in time, I realized that mother really knows best. My life today will be totally empty if my mom together with my dad were not part of it.
The great genius of the music world, Stevie Wonder, said: “Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.”
There is a mother who I believe her children will say this of her. She is no other than Titang Varela Sicangco, the matriarch of Bob’s chain of restaurants. Indeed, Tita Titang is a sweet flower of love. Not cheesy sweet but a pure heart of genuine love, sweet love.
When I have having my formation class with the OCDS, I had the great privilege of having her as my formator. When you are on your spiritual journey, the path to understanding becomes more vivid and vibrant when your mentor is the one who walks her talk.
“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers,” said Rudyard Kipling.
When my friend Ana Maria “Ang” Macasa Sanson left for Canada, she did not realize that angst would meet her there. Her daughter Drea became afflicted with a type of immune disease that left Ang and Francis totally distraught.
On her trips back home, asking her of Andrea, tears would roll down her cheeks even before she could utter a word. Canada’s medical system is socialized so Ang would cross the border to Seattle to find cures for her daughter.
Ang, a doctor (pediatrician) and a nurse decided to research, study her daughter’s ailment. She searched far and wide for doctors, treatments plus tons of prayers that could heal her daughter.
Today, Drea is a spritely, healthy lady and all thanks to her mom. Yes, God could not be there to heal her but He gave Drea her mother to do His work.
Abraham Lincoln once said: “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” I believe one of these days, Ian and Gabby will say this of their mother, Gizela Lizares Ybiernas. Gizela is one of those women who is the epitome of spunk, drive, and humor. A moment with Gizela is never idle or boring. While she loves to take care of her health and her soul, Gizela has the energy to be focused in her family and her career.
Living in the States is no holiday, bringing up two children and providing them not only with the daily provisions but the best of education, all done with tender loving care.
Ian and Gab are clones of their mom’s motivation and vitality. They were part of the school band, had jobs during school breaks, and are now channeling destinies of their preferences. Gab has inherited her mom’s energy and humor. Definitely, Ian and Gab can truly thank their Mom Gizela for what they are and hope to be.
Movieland’s heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio said: “My mother is a walking miracle.” When you have lost a child with the Don Juan incident, it is a heart break worse than death.
As they say, there is no greater sadness than to lose a child but Ruby Navarra Saril did not only cope, survive, and lived on in loving memory of her son. Then another tragedy hit. Her daughter Jennifer in adulthood lost her sight. It must have been agonizing for a mother to see her daughter’s vision ebbing away.
Ruby and Jennifer went through each day learning a new way of life around their home and family. It is amazing to hear Jennifer answer the phone as though you were talking to someone with 20/20 vision. Jennifer lives a normal life even without her sight. She goes to the neighborhood tiangge, makes siomai and all other goodies and also a fantastic mother to her son. Ruby has been the guiding light to Jennifer through all these years.
Indeed, she is a walking miracle.
That great writer Robert Browning says this about motherhood: “All love begins and ends there.”
I would like to pay tribute to the Mother of all Mothers our very own Mama Mary. All love begins and ends with her because she is Our Perpetual Help, Our Untier of Knots; she is the Consoler of the Afflicted; Help of the Sick; Mediatrix of all Graces and so many more. But most importantly she is the mother who gave birth to our Savior, Jesus Christ, who can never deny her whatever is her wish.
I would like to salute all mothers this Mother’s Day. Motherhood is not a walk in the park. While there are anxieties and sorrows during the stroll, the leaps of joy and blessings supersede any and all adversities.