Happy Mother's Day

May 9th, 2010 - Happy Mother's Day. Call it a Hallmark day if you want but I love Mother's Day. I have been a mother for 37 years and have had the pleasure of having three children call me mom. I have received numerous gifts, many handmade, many breakfasts in bed (or all over the bed), and more flowers and dandilions than you could count. But still each time this day rolls around I am filled with anticipation and gratefulness.

When the kids were little Mother's Day was the one day you could count on them to behave (that and the week before Christmas, for fear Santa would skip them) and to do anything you asked of them. My daughter once told me she was going to do anything I asked her for the whole day. That lasted for about an hour, until the sun came out and she could go out and play. But for that one hour, I had my slippers fetched, the newspaper brought to me, and songs sang to me, until I knew the words better than her. Some children have a lot of other attributes besides a good singing voice. Let's just say my daughter was a really good dancer... Another special gift on Mother's Day was when my son dipped his hand in green paint and put his handprint on paper. A small five year old's handprint on paper, brought tears to my eyes. So did the green paint on my table, floor, walls, and kitchen sink. But as we know it is the thought that counts. My youngest daughter once gave me a clay disk with some straw glued to it and an egg in the middle. When I asked what it was, she looked at me like I was an idiot. "Mom", it is a bird's nest". "Oh, I said, "it is lovely" and she said, "well the first bird died, so I put this egg in it and we can wait for it to hatch". I did not want to know about the bird that died. Sometimes it is best not to know the whole story. Through out the years the gifts have changed, but the love that goes along with the gift is still the best part.

Mother's Day is not something you get tired of, or could live without. It is a special day, where those of us who have lost our mom's remember them fondly, and those of us who have children look forward to that special Mother's Day greeting. And now as a Grandmother, I can experience the joy in seeing my children's children make that special gift for their mom, and present it with a heart full of love. And what mother couldn't use a necklace made with one inch purple and orange beads with a two inch heart in the middle.