A final word on mothers' day.

I noticed all that social media outpouring of emotion on Mothers' day too, and I don't care for it. Stop banging on about how much you love your mother, we're not the ones you have to convince. Plus, much like our justice system's presumption of innocence until proven guilty, I operate under the presumption of mother love unless you tell me otherwise (which is totally fine, some Mothers are duds and one doesn't have to love a dud), so going on about it on mothers' day only makes you look guilty. 

Obviously I seem like a total hypocrite because I devote a lot of MSC column space to going on about my mum, and I suppose I have a complicated relationship with her. Remember that time she told me that I didn't have to pay her for looking after KB once a week, I just had to wash my hair more often? That's what I mean. But it's a complicated relationship for all seasons, not just May. 

Here's a recent text from my mum that I enjoyed. 

 

Happy Mother's Day

You know what this age of social media brings? It's real outpourings of emotion. Someone dies, it's "Vale this guy!" "Vale that guy!" Mother's Day come around it's all, "Happy Mother's Day to my greatest inspiration!" Well I love my mum and everything but I'm sure as hell not about to post anything like that anywhere. And if I'm honest, yesterday I really thought about myself. Not how hard it is to be a mother and isn't it great that there's this one day to celebrate it, but more about how my kids are so adorable and being their mother is so nice. I guess more than thinking about me I was really thinking about them. They're so cute. Which I guess, despite what I said in Thursday's post, is why people keep having babies.

But maybe I should think more about my mum. I guess I'm doing this mother's day thing wrong. I mean she came out to Australia as a teenager, spoke basically no English, had to go to high school, went to uni, became a doctor. Bought nicer houses than I'll ever live in again, raised three reasonably well functioning, nice children, has been married to one guy for nearly 50 years, she's done alright.

As for me, I guess I have too. As I said to Russeth yesterday morning, not much special happened for me to celebrate MD morning. LB went out to get me a coffee, but he does that pretty regularly. And really, isn't that better? To have a fella who goes out in the morning especially to buy you  coffee. That is pretty special, isn't it!? Better than just getting that one day a year.

Look, I don't know what the meaning of mother's day is, I just know I want a coffee.

In praise of mums (PM)

It's true, K and I have been blessed with (largely) supportive, caring helpful mothers and yet we still need to complain about them sometimes. I am highly aware that in a matter of years our own progeny will be complaining about us in the same way we complain about our mothers and they complained about their mothers, who, no doubt, complained about their mothers. And so it goes. Luckily most of this complaining goes on outside of all the mothers' earshot so we can all pretend everything is fine.

Lucky for K that Mrs K was right on her supportive mothering game this weekend. Projectile vomiting is very disturbing, so lets hear it for Mrs K cleaning it all up!

Mother's Day (PM)

Mother's Day was not a big deal growing up in my house either. Sometimes we get our mum a present. Sometimes we don't. As grown ups we usually see her at least. Yesterday we went over and had a delicious lunch and played on Chickpea's new virtual reality headset so all in all we had a pretty great day. 

That's what Mother's Day is good for. I'll take any occasion to eat good food, spend time with loved ones and, ideally, ignore them while engaging in some VR. 

Likewise in my own home, Mother's Day, it's just a day. Oh, sure sometimes I might ask LB to go get me a coffee because it's Mother's Day, but he often does that anyway so it's really just a joke. Now that Baby is nearly 6 though he's well into Mother's Day. I guess they impress it upon him at school. It's pretty effing cute so I totally plan to enjoy it while it lasts. 

Yesterday he gave me a beautiful card with my portrait* on it and a message and a million exes and ohs. And he was super disappointed when he woke up to realise I was already up and making porridge and he couldn't give me breakfast in bed. He has this new found love for giving me breakfast in bed. He'll make a jam sandwich (the only thing he can make) and put it on a plate with a piece of fruit and wake me up with it. And although I'd rather be sleeping, this is a pretty effing sweet way to be woken up. Anyway, yesterday I told him porridge wasn't really in-bed food so he put all the couch cushions on the floor to make a bed and we ate porridge there. So, although I agree that Mother's Day is a bunch of bullshit, it's pretty flipping cute.

*Ok, guys, now I know K and I have always been really careful not to show our faces on this blog, but I think it's time for the big reveal. Ready?!?!

Mothers' Day (AM)

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Like I need to tell you guys. Social media was wall to wall with Mother's Day tributes. It's one of those days like that I've always thought is a bit silly, like valentines' day and the stupid public holiday for the horse race. My mum has never made a big deal out of it. She's a 'give me a card and a cuddle and that's all I need' kind of girl. Which, apart from the card, is her approach to every day. I guess the implication was that treating her kindly every day was more important than pampering her on Mother's Day . But now KB is here and I am fo shizle a mother myself. Accordingly, I spent about 3 seconds wondering whether my feelings about Mother's Day were different to my mother's. The culture certainly seems to think they should be. This notion of pampering the mother's is quite pervasive. During one of my trips to Northland last week I noticed that lots of shops had 'treat your mum!' displays in the window, often including bathrobes, which I think is very insensitive because who gets to sleep when they're a mother? Of course, the idea of being treated super special like is quite appealing. And now that KB is here I better understand how much work my mum and grandma did when we were growing up, and how much my pals have been doing for years now, and how they do so without complaining by and large. I think it's good and proper to acknowledge that, and to say that it's a super example and how I aspire to be myself.  But we have the reward of these babies that we love which has to be said, is pretty shit-hot and quite a bit better and more rewarding than a bathrobe. And more broadly, if a lady feels like she is working her guts out and needs a bit of acknowledgement, she should be able to get hers whatever day it is, not just wait for a special designated day. Ditto daddios. So I guess my Mother's Day personality is just like my mums. Happy 9th of May everyone!

Promising Combos (PM)

I wish I could share your muted enthusiasm for Admission Mate, but that poster with the giant heads and the superfluous tick in the 'o' makes it hard for me.
Sure, Paul Rudd and Tina Fey are a promising combo. And I like that Michael Sheen. Apparently he is in it too. But that poster. Eww.

Speaking of Mothers, it's my Mum's birthday today. Hooray! Happy birthday Mum.

The back of my Mum's head is so cute!

Haiku Thursday (AM)

DIAMOND JUBILEE EDITION

QEII

Sixty queen years

Word to you and your mother

May she rest in peace.

Queen Mother

Is it strange, you Maj,

For your mum's title to change

And be about you?

How does she do it?

QEII somehow

Makes beige look warm, appealing

Good beige costs money

A really great weekend (PM)

Yeah it was! And I didn’t even find a dream coat! And, although my team did win, it was only against Greater Western Sydney. Whoopdeedo.

Mate, it’s almost as if your weekend was the upset of the season!

Sure, we had tickets to see the This American Life movie of a show, so I guess the weekend was always going to be pretty good, but no one could have expected:

·         You would get a dream park which meant

·         You would find a dream coat

·         Your team, the Melbourne Demons, would have their first win of the season against the ‘in-form team of the season’!

·         The This American Life movie would be so utterly awesome and delightful!

All this from what was expected to be a pretty average weekend!

Plus Melbourne is full of beautiful autumn leaves even though it’s winter. Word to your mother autumn!

And, word to your mother last weekend!

And word to your mother, Matey, for just taking the weekend by the horns hand having a great one the shit out of it.