HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I was discussing this day with my daughter, and I reminded her that I was her mother, and not the other way around -- hence she should honor me with gifts and stuff, and not be expecting anything from me.

She proceeded to make the argument for all mothers to be entitled to some form of recognition through gift giving, which made me search out the origins of Mother's Day. This is what I found, as far as America's celebration of the holiday:

In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association.

"She was specific about the location of the apostrophe; it was to be a singular possessive, for each family to honour their mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world."

This is also the spelling used by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in the law making official the holiday in the U.S., by the U.S. Congress on bills, and by other U.S. presidents on their declarations.

So, the originator of this holiday wanted to make sure that it was the mother in the family that was toasted by the children, and not all mothers.

Score one for me!