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Editorial
No shortage of opportunities to honor your mother
Friday, May 6, 2016
If your mother says she loves you, check it out.
Grizzled old editors used to give that advice to cub reporters, but the reality of a mother's love only serves to illustrate the point.
Sure, Dad will sacrifice everything for his kids, aunts and uncles love their siblings' kids and even good friends have real affection.
But there's something mystical about giving birth, or being equipped to do so, that makes the mother-child relationship unique. Scientists are even discovering physiological factors that connect the female parent and her child.
Anna Jarvis recognized that connection when she organized the first Mother's Day observances in Grafton, W.Va. and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908.
She remained the driving force behind the holiday until finally, in 1914, Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.
Sunday's observance honors mothers of all ages, including 43.5 million women between the ages fo 15 and 50 who have given birth to 95.8 million children, 3.9 million of them giving birth in the past year.
More than 35 percent of them were unmarried, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 61.8 percent of them were in the labor force. More than 31 percent of those women have a bachelor's degree or higher, 86.3 percent had at least a high school diploma or equivalent, and 63 births per 1,000 were to women with a graduate or professional degree, 55 per 1,000 to women with a bachelor's degree.
There were 5.2 million stay-at-home moms in married couple families in 2015, but for moms with careers outside the home, some 862,043 people worked in nearly 75,000 child day care services across the country in 2013. In addition, there were 688,728 child day care services without paid employees in 2013.
If you're ready to honor your mom, there are plenty of businesses ready to help you make your point.
There are 14,161 florists nationwide, employing 62,222 people to prepare, sell and deliver floral arrangements for Mother's Day. More than 15,000 of us work for greeting card publishers and there are 16,288 cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores nationwide and 23,096 jewelry stores.
Take our word for it, your mother loves you. Let her know this Sunday -- and every other day of the year.