Our mothers’ mother

speaks within the ancestry

of bees and flowers.

Happy Mothering Sunday all!

As many of you will know, this is the day of the week I share my quest to become a more sustainable human. This week though, I want to kick back together and talk Mother’s Day, or what we used to call ‘Mothering Sunday’ which we’re celebrating today in the U.K. So, first of all, I’d like to wish all mums, stepmums, foster mums, dad’s who are mums too, guardians, godmums, midwives, fairy godmothers and community nurturers a wonderful day! For those who find the day difficult I wish you peace.

It’s a beautiful thing to honour those who take the role of mothers in our lives. Not everyone will find this in a biological mother and not all who earn the term ‘mother’ have given birth. Several members of my own family are adopted, including one of my grandparents. I remember a babysitter I had as a child who all the children in the area called Grannie Bee.  Ancient gravestones are emblazoned with titles like ‘mother of the church’ or ‘mother of the synagogue’; there are matriarchs and mother hens in almost every community, creed, faith, philosophical movement or cultural group. Mums of different kinds are everywhere!

Then there is the big mum; the great sustainer; mother of us all; the Earth herself. Every year, on this day, I remember and praise her too. It is springtime in the Northern Hemisphere and the birds are singing outside my window. Outside the borders of human lives, nature seeks to keep her – and our – interconnected cycles. As we give or receive flowers and chocolates we can become aware of the lands in which they were grown and the people who have made the giving of them possible. In doing so, we often also become aware of the beauty and scent of each bloom, and of the lives of those who have grown, harvested, made, sold and brought these offerings to us. On this day we are reminded of what is precious about life, of the labours necessary to sustain it. We recall our gains, our losses and our need to celebrate who and what nurtures us, encourages us and enables us to reach towards our most bountiful versions of ourselves.

Often, there is the exchange of gifts to the mothers in our lives, the feeding of mums, the taking on of the chores. When I was younger my mother and I would go out for cream tea or cake at a beautiful Mill House. Now, our altered geography, age and circumstances have shifted us into new traditions set in different landscapes. We each have varying ways to mark this important day.  For many, time tending a garden, planting new seeds or tending older plants feels like a maternal act today, as well as an act that gives back to and works with Mother Nature.

So, whoever you are, whoever the mothers are in your life and however you may embody the role of mother yourself, I wish you, those you love and the land you love Happy Mother’s Day! May we and the generations who come after us thrive and flourish!

this sun day,

gifts to all mothers

Earth’s flowers

and delights,

knowing she is mother too

take care of her sphere.

Antonia Sara Zenkevitch