I recently celebrated my second birth day since Nov, and am about to celebrate a third. The date I entered the world is many months from now, and what I refer to as my birthday.
Confused? The first three events I’m referring to are perhaps, more correctly, Birth Days.
You see, I’m a mom of three. I birthed three kids.
Not very gracefully I might add.
Given all that hard work, I, quite frankly, deserve three Birth Day celebrations a year.
Yet somehow on those special days, all the attention, cake, crown, and presents are directed at the one who was birthed. And, TBH, I am not pleased.
Why do we all celebrate the child,
when we moms did all the work?
I mean, all they did was show up.
We moms did all the pushing and shoving, the grunting and grinding, and endured all the pain and prodding and puking.
We underwent the mortification of strangers–MULTIPLE strangers–checking, rechecking, and often poking places on our person they simply weren’t meant to be privy to.
We survived lightning bolts of pain repeatedly and severely doled out throughout late night hours, wee hours, and too-many-hours-in-a-row hours.
Let’s not even not even talk about the birthing process itself. Or the months that led up to it.
Yet, do we get a mention on the annual anniversary their scrunched faces were finally yanked from our never-to-be-the-same-again womb?
Do we get a mere slice of cake with our name on it?
A designated seat at the party table?
No, no, and no.
When we aren’t the ones throwing the party, sometimes we aren’t even invited! What the hay!!
Don’t get me wrong. I offer up prayers of praise for my children and the difference they make on this earth every single day. (Well, most days.) I am thankful, grateful, blessed. Truly.
I am sure all (many?) moms feel the same.
But it’s time for some recognition of the real Birth Day celebrant.
The moms.
Yes, there is Mother’s Day, but that’s a generic “thanks for all you do” and it’s wonderful and I appreciate it very much but it doesn’t capture the significance behind the other holiday that’s been inexplicably hijacked from us.
Join me, moms. Let’s take our Birth Days back.
The kids can keep their birthdays. They can have the cake, the presents, the balloons.
But we get the crown.
It was our Birth Day too.
Who’s with me?
Yup! Absolutely! I have been telling my kids and husband this for years!
Fantastic! You earned those extra birthdays!