Nothing melted my heart like a bouquet of Mother’s Day flowers picked by your dirty little fingers. Even if you did pick them from our neighbor’s window box. Those lovely
arrangements I receive now are nice, too, but not quite the same. The year you sent me jewelry, my thoughts drifted back forty years to the Mother’s Day macaroni necklace you proudly made for me in Sunday School. I wore it everywhere, until the baby spit up on it, and it fused to my neck. Even those Mother’s Day pancakes, black on the outside and raw inside, were somehow more precious than all the fine-dining gift cards that have been sent to me.
Mother’s Day 101
A recent national survey concluded that the most popular Mother’s Day gifts are flowers, apparel, and gift cards. How could we get it so wrong? There’s only one thing your mother really wants for Mother’s Day – and that’s you! Talk to her. I speak as the mother of three sons who, for years, communicated only when the need arose: “You need to come to school for a conference; You need to come to traffic court with me; I need a home for my Rottweiler.” Call her,
especially if she’s a senior like me whose sons have moved as far away as they can get and still be in the USA. I’m reminded of one woman’s response when she was asked if she knew when Mother’s Day was. “Of course I do,” she said. “Mother’s Day is any day my children call me.” Read More...