I’ve been thinking for several weeks about what to get my mom for Mother’s Day.

She has everything she needs, but the point of the gift is to say something about how much she’s meant in my life.
She looked for new perfume the last time we went to the Mall, so I was thinking of that.

But, not so fast, step away from the perfume counter and think about this for a moment.

How can a bottle of perfume tell her that her diligence and hard work gave me a carefree childhood?
Could it say,
“Mom, your love created a special place I called home, a place where you & dad showed me what marriage should be.”
Or when she opened the package would she know
“The meals, the laundry, and the reliable routine you created all blended together over the years.  They added up to what felt like  a long extended embrace and a soft kiss on my forehead, and I enjoyed  them every single day as I was growing up.”
Could a bottle of perfume say thank you for things so overwhelmingly important to my life, so foundational to the person I grew up to be?

Will a perfume’s fragrance whisper that I remember her taking me dress shopping, at almost the last minute, when I decided, after all, to go to the 7th grade dance—Friday at 3:45 PM.
Yep, I pushed her to the limit on more than once, but she rose to every occasion and did what a real mother does.

She put her child’s need first.
And remembered that being a young woman is a little confusing sometimes!

Is it possible that a bottle of perfume, even an expensive one from Nordstrom’s, can tell her that it didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated, or unremembered?

No.
No, that’s something I’m going to have to use my words to say.
I’m going to say it as I hold her hands in mine and look into her eyes.
She’ll cry.
I’ll cry.
But, it’s a good kind of crying.

I’m a mom too.
With grown kids.
I enjoy a gift, a wrapped gift and a signed card.
(Just in case any of them read this <3)
But what I really want is to know they felt loved and cared for; nurtured in body, soul, and spirit.
I want to know that I did what needed to be done, and made them happy doing it.

 

What does your mom want for Mother’s Day?

• If you’re a kid she wants you to quit fighting with your siblings, to do your homework, to never get in a car with, or even talk to people you don’t know, and to read more, a lot more, and CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM!
• If you’re a teenage girl, she wants you to quit fighting with your siblings and with her, to be careful on the Internet, to get off your cell phone, get off the iPad, turn off the TV, put on a more conservative shirt, do your homework, do the dishes, come home on time, not be sexually active, not get pregnant, and CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM!
• If you’re a teenage boy, she wants you to quit fighting with your siblings, do your homework, not look at anything on the Internet you wouldn’t want her to see, spend less time playing video games, not drive too fast, turn your music down, not be sexually active, not get anyone pregnant, and CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM!
• If you’re an adult, she wants to hear from you, see you if that’s possible, and know that you’re happy.   She’d like to be reminded of your love and appreciation for her sacrifices.  Because, by now you should know, there were sacrifices!
  She’d like you to include her in your life, and not just to babysit.  And if you come to stay for a short visit, CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM!

Of course kids don’t read blogs.
But just in case any do, I wanted to get that stuff out there for you Mom.

Contrary to my previous belief, Hallmark Cards and See’s Candy did not invent Mother’s Day.
Here’s the history of Mother’s Day.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140508-mothers-day-nation-gifts-facts-culture-moms/

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