In 1948, Anna Jarvis died at the age of 84 in Philadelphia’s Marshall Square Sanitarium. According to Antolini, “This woman, who died penniless in a sanitarium in a state of dementia, was a woman who could have profited from Mother’s Day if she wanted to. But she railed against those who did, and it cost her everything, financially and physically.” In 2014, the National Retail Federation predicts that approximately $20 billion will be spent in some fashion or another on Mother’s Day. There’s little doubt that Jarvis is rolling in her grave at such incredible numbers. Whether we should share her indignation, however, is debatable. While the call to celebrate moms in simpler ways will always be valid, that doesn’t mean we should chastise those who crack open their piggy banks for their moms. As long as we set aside time to fully appreciate our favorite super-women, and as long as we let them know that they are loved, that’s what truly matters in the end.
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