As it happens, "motate" is not a proper word. It exists in the urban dictionary nowadays, but not in any classical one. I always took the meaning of "motate" to be of the same root as "motion" or "move". And that seemed to be the same thinking Mamma Sweet had in mind, because only motion would appease her encouragement.
I never moved out of my own will back then. I was compelled to move. I was going to be late for church, or we were going to miss meeting dad for lunch, or I wasn't eating my cereal fast enough to catch the bus, etc. In my "motating", I was only going through the motions.
