My thoughts and feelings about Mother's Day are, at best, ambivalent. On the one hand, I'm enormously grateful to my mother, my grandmother, and my aunt for the love and support all three gave me throughout their lives.
On the other hand, the cynic in me says the gift and greeting card holiday was promoted by merchants who want to sell their goods.
In my family, I prefer the celebration to be very low-key, with no gifts that can't be consumed in one way or another since I'm trying, mostly unsuccessfully, to rid our house of stuff.
To mothers (and all parents and all who care for children in any way): You will never get it exactly right, so forget about achieving perfection, love the children, and do the best you can.
The camellia is for everyone to enjoy.
