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All-In [29957]
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Mothers Day, 2000BCE
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Sep 7, 2023, 11:27 AM
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Most folks have a mom. But you might have thought that Hallmark Cards were a recent thing.
Not quite.
The ancients had them too, and they liked to compare their moms to the best and most beautiful things in their world, too. Only, there weren’t many roses or violets in Mesopotamia, and the postage for a clay envelope in 2000 BCE was a real b***.
The message of Lu-dijira to his mother (redacted)
“Royal courier, I want you to deliver this message!
My mother [is worried.]
Deliver my letter into her hands.
Then my mother will be delighted and will treat you most kindly for it.
Her name is Cat-Ectar.
She is the fairest of her city-quarter, [and has been] since the days of her youth.
She is loving and gentle.
She is a piece of topaz.
She is precious carnelian.
She knows how to look after [the goddess] Inana's place.
She is the jewelry of a king's brother.
She is an ornamental drinking cup, a beautiful drinking cup.
She is a bracelet of tin.
My mother is like a doe on the hillsides.
She is the morning star, providing plenty of light.
By nature she is a lamb, as sweet as honey, she is clarified butter.
She is water for the finest seeds.
She is a sweet date, [the kind from Dilmun.]
She is a polished rod of ivory.
My mother is awesome to look upon.
She is a place of entertainment set up for delights.
She is a lover who never becomes sated with pleasure.
My mother is exceedingly ripe. Like fine barley.
She is a fruit. The first fruit of the month.
My mother is an irrigation ditch.
My mother is a sedan chair of boxwood.
She is a bunch of grapes.
My mother is a [vase] made from an ostrich egg.
When you stand in her radiant presence, tell her: "Your beloved son Lu-dijira is in good health.”
Pure poetry. Were any sweeter words ever said by a son than, “My mother is a place of entertainment” or “My mother is an irrigation ditch?”
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Hall of Famer [24515]
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Re: Mothers Day, 2000BCE
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Sep 7, 2023, 12:27 PM
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Glad to see things haven't changed. On a spring Sunday we sit in church and honor motherhood generally, and our mothers and wives specifically. With sermon and song we affirm their divine appointment, the bringer of blessings. Completely true, I'm all in. We take the lovely MissTulsa to dinner later that evening.
About a month later we take our seats, the pastor stands and says, "Ahem. I have something to say to you fathers." Oh boy, here it comes again. He says nothing untrue, and then we sing Amazing Grace, the pianist giving emphasis to 'a wretch like me'. I'm all in.
It's a wonderful time of year. Has been for millennia, apparently.
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All-In [29957]
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Re: Mothers Day, 2000BCE
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Sep 7, 2023, 1:09 PM
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That struck me too the first time I read that, too. The things they found of value were different of course, like ostrich eggs and irrigation ditches, but the sentiment of respect and love for one's mother was exactly the same.
Plus, the comparisons to precious stones and plants goes right on through literature through the Song of Solomon, to Shakespeare, to today.
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Oculus Spirit [94272]
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My dear old mother was a nutjob.
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Sep 7, 2023, 12:57 PM
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Her mind broke when daddy died and she never recovered. Recently I've considered it might have been guilt for threatening to divorce him. When someone says 'That woman is beside herself,' they describe mama perfectly. I was relieved when she passed for I know she's in Heaven.
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All-In [29957]
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Re: My dear old mother was a nutjob.
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Sep 7, 2023, 1:14 PM
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I've seen that many times in my life too, in different ways. When two people spend as much time together, or share so many experiences, or love each other so deeply, they truly do "cleave" to each other in such a way that they sometimes cannot go on without each other.
Sometimes that manifests itself in being changed forever when one is gone, and it's amazing how many times they go together, within hours, days, or weeks of each other. I had an elderly relative who lost his spouse of decades and he just gave up, and a month later he was gone too.
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