While everyone is busy rushing behind marks, building their careers or competing for promotions, there is a person constant in our lives from good morning to good night who often remains unheard, unloved and unseen, yet she never complains or demands but always gives. Amidst the noise of our ambition and deadlines, her voice is the softest yet the strongest – our mother.
She gets up early every morning before everyone else, cleans the house, prepares breakfast while half asleep, helps us get ready for school and the office, ensures we have everything ready for the day, and then heads to her own work – whether it’s a job, household chores or both. She doesn’t ask for appreciation or praise. She does everything to make her family members happy and healthy. But in all of these, do we ever pause once and ask her, “Are you happy?”
She has many names, but her love is always the same. Whether we call her Mom, Maa, Amma, Thaai, Bou or Ema, the warmth in the word is universal. It always makes her feel happy and special when her children call her. A mother’s identity transcends names, languages and borders. She is the symbol of strength, the light of the house, the invisible thread that binds every broken moment together and the glue that holds a family strong in the face of life’s trials. She is not just a member of the house – she is the heart of the house, the soul of the family. She is not just a friend but a mere savior in everyone’s life. A mother doesn’t just give us life – she teaches us to live it in every joy, sadness, challenge or struggle.
Our first words, our first steps, our first fears – everything began with her. She is our first teacher – teaching us how to eat, walk, speak and smile. And as we grow older, she teaches us more important lessons: how to be kind, how to forgive someone, and how to stay strong when the world feels heavy. Even when we move away, her thoughts follow us. She knows what we like to eat, what we are scared of, and what makes us laugh. She doesn’t need reminders; she has it all set in her mind. Her love is timeless. We may grow up and forget small things about our childhood, but she remembers it all- every illness, every first word, and every time we fell and cried. For her, we are never too old to be her child.
She is the one who turns to in times of distress, the one who listens even when we make no sense, and the one who silently carries our burdens so that we can breathe a little easier. Yet how often do we listen to her? How often do we sit with her over a quiet cup of tea and ask her a simple question, “How was your day?”
Being a mother is no easy journey. It begins with carrying a life inside her for nine months – a process filled with discomfort, hormonal changes, and physical pain. Scientists say the pain a woman endures during childbirth is equivalent to breaking 21 bones at once – yet she chooses to go through it willingly to bring a life into the world. And after that, her life is no longer her own. From sleepless nights to endless worry, from caring for her sick child to ensuring everyone else eats before she does. She forgets herself in the process of raising others. And yet she does it all with love and a smile on her face.
This is where her health often gets overlooked. So that we don’t feel neglected, they often neglect their own well-being, ignore regular checkups, delay treatments for back pain, fatigue or stress and push aside their mental health struggles. Postpartum depression, anxiety and chronic exhaustion often remain hidden behind their silent smiles. In caring for everyone else, mothers sometimes forget to care for themselves, which can have long-term effects on their physical and emotional health.
She might scold you sometimes, raise her voice when you disobey or disrespect her, or go quiet when you hurt her – but her love never goes silent; it’s always present. Her love might not always be reflected by her saying “I love you”, but she says it always – when she folds your clothes neatly, when she cooks your favourite meal after a long tiring day, when she scolds you for skipping meals, when she reminds you to take a sweater because it might get cold, and when she prays for your well-being and success long after you’ve gone to sleep. She does everything for us, but it goes unnoticed because she hides her pain behind her smile. Her acts of love are silent and subtle but very powerful – they shape who we are. Her sacrifices are so many yet so silently given.
We often forget that before she became a mother, she was a person – with a name, dreams, ambitions, talents and a life of her own. She is also someone’s daughter, someone’s friend, someone’s wife, and beyond all that, she is someone with a lot of hopes for the future. But over time, the label of “mother” overshadowed all of that.
Have we ever thought of asking her what she wanted to be? Did she love painting? Did she want to become a doctor, engineer or entrepreneur? Did she once dream of travelling all around the world? Did she sacrifice her career because she wanted to raise a family? Most mothers don’t talk about it- not because they don’t remember but because they were never asked. Also, they never want to burden us with the weight of her unfulfilled dreams. That’s the most heartbreaking part, as they quietly set aside their passion so that we can pursue ours.
This silence doesn’t just affect her dreams, but it can affect her health too. Unspoken stress, suppressed emotions and lack of time for self-care often lead to anxiety, depression and chronic illness. It is important that as families and as a society, we encourage mothers to focus on their own physical and mental well-being, not just on others. A healthy mother means a healthier family.
But why should her dreams always be on hold? Why should her desires be hidden in the shadows of the kitchen, behind folded laundry or the four walls of the house? She deserves more. She deserves all the happiness of the world.
Every year on Mother’s Day, social media is filled with stories, tributes and posts celebrating mothers. While those are emotional and beautiful, what happens the next day? Do we hug that person and say her that we love her or go back to our everyday routines, forgetting that the person we praised yesterday still wakes up early the next morning to make our lives easier?
Loving our mothers isn’t a once-a-year duty. It’s a daily responsibility to value her, support her, listen to her, make her feel loved and, most importantly, see her as a person. Without showing our love over social media due to societal pressure, we can do that genuinely for the person who is ready to do everything for us. Our small gestures matter a lot, like sitting with her and asking about her day, making her a cup of tea without being asked, helping her with chores, teaching her something new, taking her out for a walk, talking about her childhood, and listening when she tells you the same story for the tenth time- because it makes her feel special, remembered and loved.
And among these small gestures, remembering her health should be our priority too. Encouraging regular health checkups, ensuring she takes time to rest, motivating her to exercise, or even accompanying her to a doctor’s visit are ways to show love. Mental health care is equally important. Listening to her feelings, reducing her stress and giving her personal space can make a huge difference.
We are never late to start. We can start by acknowledging that she deserves more, not just love but respect. Not just thanks but time. Not just praise but presence. We should find time every day to talk to her – not just for the sake of talking but really talking. We can encourage her to pursue a hobby, a class or an activity she always wanted to try. We can share our life with her – not just the good parts but the messy ones too. We can include her in our decisions to make her feel important and like she belongs.
A mother is not just a figure in the background. She is the living proof of silent strength, of patient love, of selfless giving. She is the one who helps us build our wings even if it means clipping hers. We are very lucky to have our mother in our lives, who stays 24/7 with us in our every joy and pain. Don’t hide your love and gratitude. Let her know you love her – not just in words, but in your actions. Tell her that she matters every day because she is not just someone who takes care of us; she is someone who needs care too. It’s not just Mother’s Day that should be happy for her; it’s every day that should be happy for her.
