Mothers Day was yesterday. It’s not a holiday I enjoy. It makes me sad and uncomfortable, not because I don’t have a good mother (I do) but because of the exclusionary nature of it. It is not a holiday for all to enjoy. Indeed, for many it is an annual event of discomfort and pain. Because of this it feels unnecessary to me, and try not to celebrate it any more than I need. My true feelings are that I am sad for the children without mothers, the mothers without children, the mothers whose children have rejected them, the mothers who have rejected their children, the women unable to conceive, the victims of maternal child abuse, the mothers who have had miscarriages, stillbirths, severely impaired or sick children. Every person whose maternal relationships does not fit the feelings of a greeting card is less than, and that is nothing to celebrate.
So, in keeping with that theme of the sadness that comes with being genetically tied to an inevitably flawed person (we are all flawed, parent or not), today’s song is from Eminem. Who would have thought the day would come when a mature Marshall Mathers would express regret over songs like Cleaning out My Closet.
Songs like this made Eminem huge when I was a kid. Over the years the theme of severe dysfunction with women is heard in every single song. The first time I heard Headlights a lump the size of a lemon appeared in my throat. A song somehow we can all feel and understand, the tragedy of the broken family. An older father now, Marshall raps with the foresight young men don’t yet have. And that’s something this stoner mom can really appreciate.
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