By Rex Catubig

 

IT’S just an ordinary day for them, just another Sunday–no Facebook posts, no Instagram, no tweets, no flowers, no greeting cards, no video calls, no fancy lunch or dinners, no Tik Tok.

Mother’s day is just a day in the life of the not-so-special mother –whom you meet in every nook and cranny of our city–doing the routine chores that she bravely struggles with: selling whatever she can get her hands on to make ends meet, or doing odd jobs to add a meat dish to the rice on the table while doing what she does best– raising, caring for and loving her family in a nonchalant, unobtrusive, nondescript, old-fashion way.

Uncoiffed, unsung, unheralded, she remains nameless and her face is just a blur in domestic drudgery. But despite her seeming frailty, she bears the burden of keeping the family together, she’s the comfort zone of her children, and a strong ally of the husband.

The miracle of motherhood is that it transforms a woman into a Jill of all trades. Nothing is ever so difficult, impossible to do. She probably would even do a headstand and a cartwheel if the pressing need calls for the stunt. All for the sake of family.

She always puts herself last, would even give up that piece of dried fish, and settle for its aroma to flavor the bland rice she scoops gingerly with her gnarled fingers into her mouth. For her, that is happiness in its simplest form, that keeps her heart beating to the syncopated rhythm of life.

All told, she is one of the best Mothers life could ever offer. And on this Mother’s Day, may the ordinary mother be blessed and showered with grace, love, and strength so that she can prevail.

Coincidentally, two women who are poles apart, but are not of the cookie cutter mold, strive to become mothers in their own right: One as mother to her ravished country and the other as mother to a beleaguered city. Ironically, both face sons of archetypal fathers as their adversaries in their bid for motherhood.

Here’s hoping mothers would rise to the occasion.

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

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