Anna Marie Jarvis was the founder of Mother’s Day in the United States. In 1910, West Virginia, her home state, passed a law declaring Mother’s Day a statewide observance. Soon after, the rest of the states passed similar laws. Today, thousands of people across the country observe Mother’s Day, thanking and appreciating mothers and maternal figures in their lives. I once heard someone say that Mother’s Day will be infinitely more important than Father’s Day. Even though they were joking, there is some truth to that sentiment. I think that mothers always will hold a special place in our hearts and minds because of all the work they do for us. Literally carrying us around for 9 months inside of them, feeding and nurturing us as tiny babies, watching over us and guiding us as young children. It is a debt we can never truly repay. I’ve thought about the idea of repaying my parents. I thought about reimbursing them financially for all the money they spent on my education. A quick calculation made me place that idea on the back burner. However, it could be done with enough time and investment, but the cost of repaying someone who gave you life is something I do not think we can ever repay.

I remember a few scenes from my early childhood very clearly. One of them was the night, my little brother was born. I rode in the backseat with my mother as my father drove us to the hospital. At the time, I did not fully understand the implications of what was going on. I just knew I was about to have a new brother soon. My mom seemed to be in pain as we drove to the hospital. Three year old me grabbed her hand and said, “It’s going to be all right Mom”. I think about that a lot. I do not know why that memory still sticks in my mind all of those years. I like to think that I was able to offer my support and love to my mother in that brief moment before my brother was born.

Mother’s Day, like many other holidays, has become very mainstream and commercialized. Don’t get me wrong, the cards, the gifts, the breakfasts in bed, are important and are special expressions of the love we have for our mothers but we should not focus on how nice the gifts are. The Instagram and Facebook posts expressing our gratitude and love for our mothers are sincere but are open for everyone to see, not just you and your mother. (And does your mother even use Facebook or Instagram?) All these things are nice, but we should not forget to tell our mothers how much we appreciate and love them. The tab I have accrued for my years of education can be repaid. But I will never be able to adequately thank or repay my mother for the act of bringing me into this world, so I can sit and write this piece you are reading. So take time today to call your mother, talk to her and tell her that you love her. Your love is worth more than a million Mother’s Day Hallmark cards. Be genuine when you tell her that you love her and appreciate her.