I really do hate this time of year. I’m not a parent by choice, and I have a mother I do not celebrate. I hate how I’m bombarded with ads chock full of glurgy schlock deifying mothers in general. If you’re like me, those ads are annoying, offensive, and present an image inconsistent with the reality.

Look, the entrance qualification for parenthood is biological: get knocked up or knock somebody up. It’s not in itself something for someone else to celebrate. What earns kudos is how the person/people perform the job of raising that child to adulthood. That is to say, celebrate someone being a good parent. Not everyone gets even a passing grade there, but I suppose highlighting that fact wouldn’t sell as many flowers and greeting cards.

I’m sure my mother did her best, but she should not have procreated. She’d have been better off spending all that money on therapy instead of foisting those unexamined issues onto her children. Instead, children for her were possessions intended to provide validation. Time and time again, anything that required her to step up with actual parenting (gasp sacrifice) was minimized or ignored. Mom taught us that it was the appearance that mattered, not the reality. As a result, my brothers and I are all emotional messes.

Anyway. You all have “mothers” too I’m sure. I just am tired of the put-them-on-an-unearned-pedestal holiday that purports to guilt us into honoring a person who might not deserve it.