Happy Mother's Day 2024

Contemporary photographs thanks to Cantrell Portrait Design

​by Skip Cohen

It's Reflections, and I never write about business and marketing on Sundays. It's also Mother's Day, which in the last few years seems to be fueled by rose-growers and venues offering a special brunch. Even the Tampa Tarpons, the New York Yankees minor league team, has a Mother's Day event.

Just for the fun of it, and I've probably done this at least once in past years, I went searching for the origin of Mother's Day. Here's what I found on Google:

The idea started in America when a woman called Anna Jarvis held a small memorial service for her own mother on 12 May 1907. Soon after, most places in America were observing the day and in 1914, the US president made it a national holiday, celebrated on the second Sunday of May.

I really wanted to write something different about Mother's Day. I've written about the same thing about my mom for the last ten years. Mother's Day and Father's Day are very different when both parents have passed away; they are not different in the love you feel but in how you appreciate their role in your past.

This is when all those old pictures come into play. Memories are priceless, and they're all fueled by photographs and videos. Every image has the ability to send me hurling through time and back to the moment the shutter was clicked. Then the stories roll out, followed by smiles, maybe a few bittersweet tears, and so often laughter. And if I ask Sheila, "Did I tell you about the time that...?" She's too polite to say yes, even though she can lipsync every word I'm about to share.

To all of you Moms out there - Happy Mother's Day! And to all of you missing your mother, take the time to dig out a few old photographs. You'll be amazed at how quickly all the memories come back and are so uplifting. I like to think all our missing moms are hanging out together today, watching over us, laughing at the craziness of our lives, filled with pride and most important of all, helping us remember all the special moments.

Wishing everybody a terrific day ahead. I hope you can celebrate Mother's Day, savoring each special memory and appreciating all those times your mother said, "You'll understand when you're a parent someday!" And if you're fortunate enough to have your mother with you today - go for one of those eleven-second hugs I always write about - nobody deserves it more than your Mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

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