As Mother’s Day rapidly approaches, I am left to think about how much I appreciate mine and those I’ve come across. Unfortunately, there are some mothers who go unappreciated; after all the scary, painful, and exhausting experiences mothers undergo for their children, I don’t understand how any mother can go unrecognized.

Mother’s Day isn’t merely the celebration of women who undergo the act of giving birth after nine months of pregnancy; rather, it is a day to appreciate the one who greets you every night, calls you when they’re worried, and kept you alive and healthy during childhood.

This holiday began with the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals to honor the mother goddesses, and there have been many variations of this celebration of mothers in history, such as the Catholic festival known as “Mothering Sunday”.

Mothers have been wholly dedicated to their children since before their birth; in fact, they have been devoted to the mere idea of a child, years before having one was in the picture. As children, aspiring mothers practiced their caregiving skills on a plastic baby – then, nine months of pregnancy and one extremely painful night later, their long-awaited dream finally becomes reality. 

Even non-traditional mothers deserve a day off. Mother’s Day is about celebrating the person who’s cared for you since before you could care for yourself and showing appreciation for all the late nights and the amount of effort it takes to raise a child. And if that person for you didn’t undergo pregnancy or raise you from the very beginning, they still have put their boots on the ground to make sure that you were raised in a healthy environment. 

This one night doesn’t just change the life of these women for the following 18 years; it has a profound impact on the rest of their lives. Mothers do so much for their children and families that they deserve more than just one day of praise – but Mother’s Day is a great start to show our mothers just how much we appreciate them.

There are numerous things we can do to show how much we appreciate our mothers, but buying them flowers and chocolates shouldn’t be the only way we demonstrate our love. Just doing something with them – or making them something simple, like a card – would mean the world to any mother.

It’s almost like when we were children, bringing home a piece of paper with a mess of colors on it, without any discernible shape or pattern. Even if it looked as though we accidentally dropped a bunch of paint on a piece of paper, our mothers thought it was the best thing ever – simply because it was made by their child.

With everything our mothers do for us, taking one day out of every year to appreciate their tireless efforts to make our lives something we can be proud of shouldn’t be something we shy away from. Anything would make your mother feel happy and appreciated – whether it’s as small as making a card for them, or as big as spending your entire day with them.

It doesn’t matter what you do – just do something to make sure your mother feels appreciated and loved.