THE POET David White once said “solace is the only place where disappointment is welcomed and rehabilitated.” I think that if that were indeed the case, then Monday must be the day of solace, as Mother’s Day happened to fall on the Sunday before that.
By circumstance, the fam went out on that day for two reasons only; and the intention of celebrating the mum’s day was definitely not one of them. The first was to escape the intense heat in the house by seeking shelter at the mall, and the second was to watch an afternoon screening of “The Guardians of the Galaxy 3” on the widescreen.
Not really romantic reasons, mind you, but one should also consider that we technically were out with the mommy on Mother’s Day and watching a movie at that. Besides, every day is Mother’s and Valentine’s days combined in our fam (wink).
So much to witness firsthand on such a widely-awaited occasion. For starters, a dedicated portion of the mall featured a row of Mother’s Day-themed booths with special gifts, foodstuff, perfumes, and whatnot for sale.
In short, the usual knick-knacks one would usually buy for mom as a gift. As it turns out, upon closer observation, it looked like the mums themselves were the ones actually doing the buying when we were there. It wasn’t at all that bad, though, because practically all the mothers we saw in the mall that Sunday carried large bouquets of flowers in their arms as they walked with their children beaming amongst the displays.
Even come dinner time after the movie, the restaurants we checked out and the one where we finally opted to dine in looked as though widespread celebrations were in progress, judging from the number of bouquets propped up either on chairs or on the tables.
With the mall tour/day almost spent, I’d imagine most of the revelers on the way home with their batteries low. Traffic was almost at a stand-still by eight-thirty in the evening at the Matina to Bangkal junction, from what one could see in the cars, a hint of pink bouquet wrappings propped up on the dashboard and some long-drawn faces eerie-looking while illuminated by their mobile phones.
Monday is Solace Day. Back to the grind, as others are wont to say. Perhaps at the office, a tale or two on how Mother’s Day went, and if lucky, an occasional sharing of leftover food and cakes at lunchtime for other co-workers (and fellow mothers) to sample. Likewise, by then, social media will have also documented all of the previous day’s activities faithfully, while the world’s largest digital photo album is seen and shared online, all to honor motherhood. Solace day, indeed. The time to recharge after all the excitement and thrill is gone. It’s as if the fireworks are over, like the day after Christmas or New Year’s. Life goes on.
