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Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
SAY IT WITH FLOWERS
“Who was the greatest mother in the Bible?” Mama asked twelve-year-old Anna.
“Mrs. Noah.”
“Why not Jesus’ mother Mary?”
“Because Mrs. Noah looked after children and all those stinky animals for forty days and forty nights.”
Mama smiled. “I hope someone, sometime will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.”
May 10, 1908, due to Anna Jarvis’ diligent campaigning, the first Mother’s Day ceremonies were held in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. In 1914 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday.
Mama’s quote isn’t fiction 😉 CLICK HERE for a brief history of Mother’s Day in the United States.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
I didn’t know, until I looked it up in response to your story, that Mothering Sunday and Mothers’ Day were not originally the same thing. The Mother in Mothering Sunday was metaphorical, the mother church. But after the invention of Mothers’ Day in the US, the holidays converged
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Dear Neil,
Honoring mothers goes back to ancient times and pagan practices. It’s interesting to learn the ways the holidays evolved, isn’t it? Thank you for the read and comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Here’s to Mrs Noah. Children are difficult enough, but stinky animals? No thanks. A lovely story, and a fascinating overview of the history of Mother’s Day. I’ll be very careful now to place my apostrophe correctly. I’ve been doing it wrongly up to now. Happy Mother’s Day to you, Rochelle.
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Dear Margaret,
I confess…I wasn’t sure about the apostrophe placement so I googled it. 😉 Mrs. Noah is definitely an unsung hero, isn’t she? I believe her sons were grown men by the time the ark set sail, however they did have wives. So there might’ve been a few grandbabies to contend with. We can only imagine. Thank you, Margaret and a Happy Mother’s Day to you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A golden nugget of knowledge,
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Thank you, Michael. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks for adding to my knowledge Rochelle
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Dear Sadje,
Always happy to pass along a bit of knowledge. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re welcome
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Good for her for pushing until it was a reality. But once created, well, no putting the genie back in the bottle and keeping it a simple affair… And Mrs. Noah is under appreciated
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Dear Trent,
It is rather amusing that Anna pushed so hard for Mother’s Day and later railed against the commercialism. Guess she just couldn’t have it both ways. Thank you for coming by for a read and comment. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’d say after 40 days and nights, the children would have been more stinky than some of the animals. 🤣.
A great little tale loaded with history.
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Dear Tanille,
It does give one pause…how were the facilities on the ark? Thank you for your kind words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’m guessing not like a cruise ship? 😀
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Dear Rochelle,
what a delightful story and kudos to Mama and Anna for making Mother’s Day possible. And here’s to Mrs. Noah for being the inspiration behind this historical movement to honor all mothers.
Shalom,
Adele
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Dear Adele,
Mrs. Noah certainly isn’t given much air time, is she? But Shem, Ham and Japeth had to have come from somewhere. 😉 Thank you and a good Mother’s Day to you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Well! A story I already knew :). And a lovely one, at that.
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Thank you, Linda. This was a new story to me. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A good story of the origin of Mother’s Day as we currently celebrate it. As you said celebrating Mothers goes back to….well, probably forever. Thanks for the education. Happy Mother’s Day to you & all you Mothers out there.
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Dear Jan,
Glad you came along for the read. 😉 Thank you, m’luv.
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As Michael mentioned, in the UK what we now refer to as Mother’s Day is actually about something completely different, but as with so many things we celebrate, they have been imported from the USA.
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Dear Keith,
We’re two countries separated by a common language. 😉 I’ll have to dig into the origins of Mother’s Day on your side of the pond. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What a sweet story. You’ve made me wonder what Anna had been doing recently that led her to be so aware of the ‘stinkiness’ of animals.
Shalom
Penny
xx
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Dear Penny,
Now there’s a thought that never occurred to me. I was more bent on leading up to the origins of Mother’s Day. 😉 Thank you for your thoughtful comments. .
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It is good to celebrate Mother’s Day. Although I thought they were in the Ark for over a year, after forty days and forty nights she probably got used to the smell.
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Dear Frank,
According to Genesis the flood lasted 150 days. In the tenth month the tips of the mountains were visible. It looks like the better part of a year to me. Hm. I might have been able to use fewer words. 😉 All those pesky details. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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And after fourty nights and days they fertilized the earth. I laughed about the stinky animals. Another interesting historical tidbit.
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Dear Gabi,
Of course the point of the story is the origins of Mother’s Day in the US. 😉 The ark was a side trip that seems to have taken center stage. All good. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Of course. That’s what I meant with the historical excurse since the arch isn’t historical, at least in my reality.
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Lovely bit of history, and indeed hats off to Mrs. Noah, who we KNOW was the one who did most of the work, all the soothing, and much of the running around AND the laundry AND the cooking AND … in the end of the day Noah probably stretched his legs and said something along the lines of “I’ve had such a long day. Must be nice to just cook a little dinner and play with the kids all day.” 😉
Thanks for using my photo, by the way. Isn’t spring grand? In fact, the grandness of spring kind of led me to what I wrote in response to the prompt. Colored as it would be by today’s memoriam and by these times reality check of terrible losses, and the potential for continued loss of what one thinks was already gained.
שנדע רק טוב
Na’ama
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Na’ama Y’kara,
I’m glad you enjoyed the history and fleshed out Mrs. Noah. So little known about her. I feel her pain, having had three sons myself. 😉
Beautiful photo. I love your flower photos. And yes, may we know only good. 😀
Shalom, my friend,
Rochelle
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xoxo
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Good story, Rochelle, and I like the background music you chose to go with it.
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Dear Lisa,
It’s nice to know someone’s listening. You Tube has about any kind of music you need. Crude technology on my part…desktop and phone. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re very welcome. I listen every week!
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Querida Rochelle,
Out of the mouths of babe’s … truth.
Great info on the beginnings of appreciating mothers.
Tender story …
Abrazos y Carino,
Isadora 😎
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Querida Isadora,
Thank you for your sweet words. Mil Gracias mi amiga.
Shalom y abrazos,
Rochelle
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Well done, Rochelle.
It all happens or happened on Mother’s Day.
Interesting.
As I understand it, the less said about Noah himself the better. 🙂
Peace,
Bell
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Dear Bill,
Pfft. Noah gets all the credit. Whassup with that??? Glad you found my story interesting. According to Simon and Garfunkel it’s all happening at the zoo. Which being a mother often feels like.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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Illuminating as always. Now I wonder if the UK Mother’s Day was created for the same reason, and why do we have it on a different day!? 🙂
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Dear Iain,
According to Neil, the UK’s Mother’s Day had different origins. Might be worth looking into. Thank you. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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so that’s how it started. interesting. 🙂
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Origins are most often interesting and not what we expect. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Sweet story! I assumed Mother’s Day was one of those Hallmark inventions,
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Dear Ali,
Now you know it wasn’t Hallmark. Although they certainly have cornered the recent markets, haven’t they?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hi came across you by chance, really enjoyed the challenge thank you 🙂
On Mothers day- here in the it’s is linked to Easter and is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Sometimes its referred to as Mothering Sunday this originated back in 16th century – a religious event, on the fourth Sunday of Lent Christians would return to their mother church for a special mass. Mothering Sunday was a day of celebration, servants were given a day off, and food like Simnel cake eaten – out of fashion these days!
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Dear Angela,
Again, welcome! Glad you found us. 😀 I love the cultural exchange we have. Thank you for sharing.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What a legacy. So often people lose control of their creations; it must be so frustrating to see something you started for good go sour this way. I’ve been reading about Mothers for Peace rallies springing up this weekend; perhaps the original purpose will come to fruitition in the end.
Thanks for enlightening us, as ever.
Jen
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Dear Jen,
It’s a shame that what started out being a sweet and loving memorial turned into something else. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Always thought provoking. And isn’t it always wisdom from the children! I like a child that thinks outside the box.
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Dear Eugenia,
Children do say the darndest (and most thought provoking) things. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Somehow, I forgot to comment on Wednesday. I always read/listen and comment before writing mine. I got caught up in mine and forgot everything else.
Mrs. Noah? Yep. You gotta love a book that gives so much respect to women that they are only identified as an extension of their husbands. Maybe Mrs. Noah and Lot’s Wife should write their own book, “Sweet & Salty.” Of course, this is the same book that says, “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” If that book were a movie star, it would be cancelled.
This is another interesting history and much sadder than usual. Remind me never to start a holiday.
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Dear Nobbin,
“Sweet and Salty” I like it. The same book tells us that Deborah was a prophet. But here is no place for a debate. BTW…pssst. Don’t start a holiday.
Thank you for your thought provoking comments. See ya tomorrow. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh brilliant answer! 40 days and nights of noise and stink animals and family… she might be into something there! Happy mother’s day to all the mums!
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Dear Laurie,
I’ve no way of knowing whether or not Mrs. Noah was really a part of the conversation. 😉 That’s the fiction part. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Another great story!
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Thank you so much, Neel.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I agree with Anna. Definite vote for Mrs. Noah!
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Dear Sascha,
So little is known about Mrs. Noah. She couldn’t have had it easy. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re very welcome, Rochelle. (Perhaps someone should write Mrs. Noah’s story.)
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