Only Momma!

My mom; Margarita Miles
with me as a baby. circa 1968

Through out the ages, there has seemingly been different celebrations of motherhood. A far cry from the way that we may celebrate Mothers day today, however, it is the sentiment behind this special day that counts. Perhaps Mother day has its origins from "Mothering Sunday", which dates back to 17th century England, where the 4th Sunday of Lent was set aside for Mothers. A day where their children, who were often farmed out as servants, farm hands, or sent away to trade school, were allowed to return home for the day to spend time with their mother.  Now, before I go any further, let me just interject and say, the Brits had it right; farming out your teens...its genius! What mother wouldn't be thrilled to see her teen when she didn't have to see them day in and day out, and deal with the teen attitudes.  Even better was the fact that the parents collected the salary earned by the child. I guess that is what would be referred to as the "good ol' days".
   Now, as I understand it, the early settlers in the USA, really wanted to separate themselves from England and her traditions. "Mothering Sunday" never took hold here. Farming out your kids did take hold for a while, but has faded away through out the generations. (I am contemplating starting a petition to bring "Farming out" back.)
  As early American settlers strived to be different and independent, many English traditions were not incorporated into this "New World".  As several local traditions were set up to honor mothers, most were short lived and never caught on. A few women were instrumental in establishing the Mothers day that we celebrate today. To spare you from an extensive history lesson, I will narrow it down to one key person; Anna Jarvis. Ms Jarvis organized the first Offical Mothers day in honor of her mother's hard work and dedication as a Sunday school teacher of over 20 years and the annual "Mothers friendship day" which she organized and held the help heal the pain of the Civil War. The first official "Mothers Day" was held on May 10th, 1908, at Andrew's Methodist Church, in Grafton, West Virginia. Anna Jarvis sent over 500 white carnation flowers; one to be worn by every son and daughter, and two by every mother in the congregation. The irony is that several years later, Anna Jarvis was arrested at a Mothers Day festival for trying to stop women from selling flowers. She stated, "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit."

Melanie Miles with Apollo
28th April, 2008

  No matter its origin, whether you celebrate her on a specific day or not, we all have a mother, and she deserve to be recognized and honored. There is nothing more precious than the gift of life. Only a mother can give us this gift, through birth. As I have watched Melanie grow this new life inside of her, the same as I watched Apollo, I am humbled by how amazing this truly is. To place your hand on the stomach of an expectant mother and feel your baby move inside for the first time, is nothing short of incredible, but to realize how that must be for a mother, to have and to feel that child growing and moving inside, is beyond comprehension... a sensation that as a man, I will never experience.
  To see the bonding and connection between mother and child at birth; to watch as the years unfold and see how each and every day, this bond is renewed; to experience the love, patients, and nurturing, as well as the firm but gentle hand that is both disciplinarian and nurse; has been a heart warming experience for me. I have a new appreciation for my own mother. I know she made endless sacrifices for me and my siblings.
  Your mother has your back all the time. She is your biggest fan in everything that you do. She will nurse you back to health when you are ill. She will bandage your wounds when you are hurt. She can unleash a wrath on you that only a mother can get away with, and yet still love you more than anything. As a child, your mother is also your best friend, playmate, doctor, secretary, teacher, maid, chef, taxi, and more.

Listening to moms instructions

  I love how much Apollo adores his mom. At times, I will overhear him ask his mom for something. I offer to get it for him, at which point Apollo will turn to me and exclaim, "No! Only momma!" Yes, only momma indeed. Apollo has recently asked me, "Are you hungry dada? Momma will cook you something", giving further credence to the role of Mother". Keep in mind that most of the time on Saturday and Sunday morning, I get up early and make breakfast for Apollo and will keep him in snacks through out the day when I am home, but when it comes down to it, he still sees his mom as his personal chef and food provider.
  Melanie told me after my last post a couple days ago, that she thought that that post was going to be about mothers and Mothers Day. I responded with, "The blog is entitled, 'Apple G', for Apollo, not 'Momma M' for Melanie." Yes, I was having some fun at her expense, but as I thought about it some more, I felt compelled to write. After all, where would any of us be with out our moms. This blog is the best gift I can give Melanie to honor "Motherhood". Not just this post, but as a whole. I would not have this blog, nor would I have Apollo, were it not for her. Thank you Melanie, for being an amazing mother to Apollo, and to our new son that is on the way, as well as to Ian and Aden. Thank you for being a loving wife, and best friend. We would all be lost with out you.  I will continue my efforts to "Farm out" the teens to make next years "Mothers Day" that much more special.

May 2011. 26 weeks pregnant.