Are You My Checker?

Yesterday, the checker at the grocery store greeted us with a chirpy, "Happy Mothers Day!"

I didn't say anything.

Believe me, this is better than saying what I wanted to say. I have a bit of a reputation as having a smart mouth. My only defense is that people have no idea how much discretion I really exercise. So many things I never say out loud.

I wanted to tell her, "I'm not a mother."

Which isn't precisely true. I'm a stepmother. Kind of an after-the-fact one, since David and I aren't legally or religiously married. But I've been part of my stepchildrens' lives for 18 years, so I count it. They don't count it and don't acknowledge me on Mothers Day. There are a lot of reasons for that, most of them having to do with loyalty to their mother. I understand those reasons and don't blame them. But yeah, I have a few issues with the day.

For the most part, I don't mind. It means a great deal to me to celebrate my own mother. I wrote her my own little ode yesterday. But when the Safeway chick greets me with something like that, I shudder at the presumption and carelessness.

The decision to be a mother or not is a fraught thing. Some women are mothers without wanting to be. Some want to be and can't. Some have children who die tragic deaths. Some women choose not to have children. It's intensely personal, regardless of which category you fall into.

Even going the other direction, celebrating your own mother can be an emotional minefield. I have a friend whose mother died, much too young from cancer, a few years ago. Her mother died only a week before Mothers Day. She still grieves.

Yes, the checker was only trying to be chirpy and friendly. Which is why I didn't snap at her. I couldn't quite dredge up the smile and happy "thank you" she was looking for, but I did the best I could.

I think all of us are doing the best we can. It's important to remember that a greeting card holiday does not make this a greeting card world. Sometimes instead of a sweet poem inside, there might be a well of pain. Perhaps it's best not to assume.