When I was growing up, I cahn remember people making suh much hype ’bout Mother’s Day. First of all, when I was growing we didn’t have the newspapers like now, the amount o’ radio stations like now, television like now and as a matter o’ fact, we really didn’t have nothing like now.
The truth is, the only radio I come along and see up until I was around ten or so years old was the Rediffusion, and not evahbody had one o’ dem neither. So if duh used tuh big-up Mother’s Day pon the Rediffusion I ain’t know ’cause we ain’t had none.
I grow up in a big family in a big community where evahbody knew evahbody family, especially duh mother. She was the body who if anything happen, nuh matter what it was, ya used tuh hear people saying dat duh gine and complain tuh the body mother fuh dem.
And I gine tell ya, you ain’t want nuhbody tuh complain tuh your mother fuh you ’cause true or lie, ya mother gine find something tuh cut ya tail for. She had tuh give the body who would be an adult, satisfaction.
Ya see, even though you might not have done the particular thing dat the adult complain tuh your mother ’bout you for, she gine find all kinds o’ things tuh justify the cut-tail.
So when the body gone ’long, you still bawling and she finally cool down and start tuh listen tuh you or one o’ your sisters or brothers who was there, she would justify the cut-tail by telling you dat ya ain’t had nuh right out there.
She would tell you dat when ya saw ya friends doing so and so, ya had a right tuh left and come ’long home where ya live. Ya like tuh much friends. And dat if ya wasn’t wid dem, duh couldn’t call ya name.
The mother used tuh do all the cooking; the mother used tuh do all the washing, by hand. The mother used tuh be the body going fuh the uniforms; the mother used tuh guh down by the school.
The mother used tuh budget and stretch evah penny tuh make ends meet. The mother used tuh go out in the vicinity and represent ya if anybody do you anything. The mother was never too tired tuh listen tuh evahbody stories at the end o’ the day. The mother was smart. She knew every personality of every child; she would listen a lot more than talk.
The mother used tuh help ya wid ya homework even though she didn’t go past primary school. The mother could laugh and the mother could cry.
Whatevah happen, it was always the mother. Duh used tuh curse the mother: she look like she mother, she does get on like she mother, she growing up just like she mother. The mother was most respected, feared or hated fuh whatevah reason in the community. When I was growing up, everybody depended on and expected the mother tuh do and know evahthing and she lived like it was true.
When I was growing up, every day was Mother’s Day. I could not imagine life wid-out my mother. To me, my mother represented every good woman.
Today, if my mother was still alive, she would be 88 years old and I would be trying tuh give her all the things I think she deserve but dat I couldn’t give her when I was younger: but looking back, I think my mother got everything and more.
She had us; a host of us. She had love; she gave love and received love. More than anything else, she lived tuh see dat all her efforts and hard work was not in vain as all of us grow up tuh be respectable men and women.
Thank you, mothers, from your children everywhere, not only today but every day.
• Mavis Beckles was born and raised in The Orleans. She has an opinion on everything.
