Memories of Mother’s Day

We usually have Mother’s day on the second Sunday of May. How do you celebrate mother’s day? The following stories are my memories of Mother’s Day.

Since I was in the first grade of elementary school, I received an allowance from my parents every month. When Mother’s Day came around, my mother would give my grandmother a pair of “geta”, and in turn, I would give her a pair. Geta are a kind of open, wooden footwear, and were commonly worn until the 1960’s, during the Showa period. I used my pocket money each year to buy my mother another pair of geta. I always looked forward to picking out a beautiful pair for her. I can remember vividly, because it was such an exciting part of my childhood.

When I became a mother, my three sons would give me drawings of myself with “Thank you, Mom!” written around me, or a brooch they had made at kindergarten. I enjoyed them very much, but as we moved around a lot it was not feasible for me to keep them indefinitely. When we lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, our sons started attending American schools. There was a Japanese school, but we knew that we were going to Zambia in Africa as our next destination, so we thought it was important that we focus on exposing our boys to the English language. My second son, Yoshiyuki, was about five years old at the time. At one of the events at his kindergarten, the mothers were invited to serve cake and refreshments as waitresses. I’ll never forget the smile on his face. We had a photograph, but lost it somewhere along the way. Now it only exists in the album of my heart, where it will stay forever.

After that we moved to Lusaka, which is the capital of Zambia. On our first Mother’s Day in Lusaka, my husband and children all forgot. I was very upset, and grappled with whether I should point it out or just let it slide. In the end I caved, and reminded them. My eldest son, Tomoyuki, rushed to his room, and a few minutes later emerged with a wonderful red origami carnation he had folded for me. I was so surprised and happy. He had a special talent for making origami. He had taught himself all kinds of origami from magazines, and then gone on to create his own versions adapted from the guides he had found there. I’m not good with my hands, and can’t even fold a paper crane without it looking like a crow at best.

I found this video guide on YouTube which represents the carnation he gave me for mothers day. It could be a fun activity for you to do with your little ones.

My most recent memory of Mother’s Day was a box of roses sent from my youngest son, Norimichi. He has returned to Tokyo after living in Las Vegas up until a couple of years ago. He sent me these roses, which feel like something from a romantic movie with beautiful actresses. I had yearned for such roses for a long time. What more could a woman want? I never thought I would be so spoilt, but my dream became a reality. These roses are supposed to be placed in the bathroom, to fill the room with a calming fragrance.

I would sincerely like to thank my three sons. I am a very happy mother!