Despite the rain, a lot of mothers around Chicagoland were all smiles as their children honored them. While most mothers would readily admit that it isn't always easy being a mom, there's a good chance most would say, especially on Mother's Day, it's worth it.
Sunday, Chicagoans celebrated the woman most simply would not want to ever have to live without.
Some families celebrated at the John Hancock's Signature Room on Wacker Drive. Others, chose to honor their mothers at radio station WGCI's World's Largest Mother's Day Brunch at the Hyatt hotel.
"I'm glad and thankful for Mother's Day, to all my kids. It's a special day for me, and I thank the Lord to be here," said mother Pearl Arnold.
That was also the sentiment of many of the mothers and their children who were special guests of the Haymarket Center's Mother's Day luncheon. The organization hosted the luncheon for approximately 50 women who are participating in alcohol or substance abuse treatment and recovery programs.
The day's celebration of motherhood was a traditional one at St. Thomas Moore parish where Francis Cardinal George blessed mothers-to-be while sharing a message of the biblical importance of life.
"That's what we celebrate, the truth about what an unborn child is and how wonderful motherhood is supported by a loving father," Francis Cardinal George said.
Mothers-to-be were also celebrated at Rush University Medical Center where nurses in the hospital's New Life Family Center treated expectant moms with high-risk pregnancies to treats and goody baskets as a way to make them feel special even before their most important day.
Mother's Day has grown into the tradition it is after being suggested first in 1872 as a day dedicated to peace, not motherhood. United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the day a national holiday in 1914.
Historians say the Mother's Day origins internationally are based in the church, with the practice of visiting one's mother church annually.
