No Mother's Day? Worst idea, ever.

I started seeing hashtags for No Mother's Day, this week.   My initial reaction was- great idea.  These celebrities are probably lobbying the flower companies to donate some of the massive proceeds they will make this week to various charities that help with maternal health around the world.  Or maybe they will get Hallmark on their side.  Or maybe their idea is that we ask our loved ones to celebrate us by donating to these causes instead of buying us flowers or cards, or whatever.

Nope.

That's not the idea at all.  Well, it sort of is- there are places to donate and such-  but it's not the main call to action.

Christy Turlington decided that in order to honor all the mothers that die because of poor maternal health and care, we living Moms should disappear for the day.  Literally.  Seriously.  Literally disappear.

No Facebook updates, no Twitter, no answering the phone, no accepting gifts or celebrating with our families.  The purpose of all of this is to show the world how traumatic it would be to not have us around. It will make a real statement about how important mothers are.  Well, it will either do that- or totally traumatize our young children, who I'm pretty sure will be a little confused about why Mommy is throwing away their handmade macaroni necklace.

Am I the only person that thinks this is the worst idea ever?

Just so you don't think that I am the biggest jerk on the planet, I am going to show you the video now, so you can see how strange it is for yourself.

So, let me get this straight.  Lots of women die because of poor maternal health- so I have to give up the ONE DAY a year that I actually get thanked for all of the thankless, unrelenting, 24 hour a day work that I do?  I work full time.  We don't have any childcare, or family in state to help us.  I haven't slept through the night since about month 5 of my pregnancy.  I haven't had a quite, uninterrupted shit since Lucien was born, and my husband and I haven't been on a date since November.

Guess what?  I want to be thanked, called, and acknowledged on Mother's Day.  I do.  I really do.  Even after watching all of you women spend one minute of that two minute video staring at me, trying to guilt me into submission- I still do.  And since I certainly can't disappear from any of my Mom obligations that day- you're basically just asking me to give up the good stuff.  Are all of you celebrities so far removed from what it's like to not have a single moment or extra dime to be pampered, that you can't imagine how much most of us Mom's really need that day?

I have a better idea.  Why don't we "disappear" on Fathers Day, imploring men to do everything on their own?  I mean, it seems fair, since most of the legislation that is making the US such a dire place for women and children is being passed by men.

I totally support Every Mother Counts- I do.  I think it is a great organization.  But don't guilt women into not celebrating the one day out of the year that is totally theirs.   That is just wrong.

And stop staring at me like that.  It's creepy.

You can donate, take action, and make a difference here.