| Make Mother’s Day more than a ‘Hallmark holiday’ |
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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
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Posted: Sunday, May 3, 2009 8:13 am
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Mother’s Day is nearly upon us again.
That day of days when we take some extra time and honor the woman who gave us life and shaped us into the people we are today.
“It is a career that has no paycheck,” Post reader barrettbear commented “The most rewarding gift of all: Their children’s and spouse’s unselfish and undying love.”
Traditionally, Mother’s Day was intended to honor all mothers by adult children simply returning home and sharing a meal together.
Since the second Sunday in May was officially designated as Mother’s Day by an act of Congress in 1914, children across the nation have given gifts to their mothers.
Usually those gifts consist of greeting cards, and Mother’s Day founder Anna Marie Jarvis fought against the practices late in her life.
“A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world,” she said.
But occasionally children go beyond the pale and give gifts to their mothers that are from the heart and remembered fondly years later.
Before you run off to the store to buy those flowers and cards, remember hand-made presents are the ones that make lasting memories.
Evelyn Benefield takes pride in her garden, especially the decorations made by her grandchildren. Her grandkids have made impressions of their little hands and feet and given them to her as Mother’s Day presents.
“I have one for everyone of my grandchildren,” she said.
Post reader Confused also loves handprints preserved in paint, cement or plaster of Paris.
“When they are combined with a nice poem, it just makes me cry,” she said. “I think that just being a mother makes me happy on that special day.”
She also appreciates the daffodils her young children pick from the yard and give to her.
“They will put them in a glass with water and be so proud of the 'flowers' that they picked for me,” she added.
Beverly English also has a heartwarming gift from her son Campbell Hunt.
When Campbell, 12, was 5 years old, he went with his father and picked out a vase full of silk roses for Mother’s Day.
“I’ve kept it all these years,” she said, adding it was the first real gift Campbell picked out specifically for her.
Post reader Patty received “a LARGE orange smiley face (made) out of clay at school” with purple yarn attached to it from her daughter one year.
“It was a necklace,” Patty said. “I wore it to church that Sunday and she was so proud.”
But her husband wasn’t and refused to sit next to her during services.
“Everyone smiled. I still have the necklace – another mother’s treasure,” she said.
But some of the most cherished gifts can’t be saved and are memories of time spent together on Mother’s Day.
“Just being together with all my children is a great joy,” mother Lucy Warner said. “I still have my 95-year-old mother with me, and I love to honor her while they honor me.”
Pat Gritton said her fondest memories are when she gathers with her children and grandchildren over Mother’s Day lunch every year.
This time together means more with adult children often living away from their parents.
Maura Satchell said her favorite Mother’s Day gift was a simple phone call from one of her sons.
“It was 2003 and my eldest son was part of the U.S. invasion force,” she said. “I had not heard his voice on the telephone since the day before they invaded in mid-March.”
On Mother’s Day she received a call from an unknown number.
“It was my son, calling to wish me a happy Mother's Day and to tell me he would be heading home in the near future,” she said.
If you’re lacking for ideas on what to get your mother on her special day, you can always ask.
Stephanie Turley always asks for gift cards to her favorite stores.
Ginger Boone’s children get her presents for her favorite hobby, tennis.
And Peggy Thomas asks for the same thing every year: For her adult children to come home and clean out their childhood closets.
“I’ve asked for Mother’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, and it hasn’t happened yet,” she said.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. |
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