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A Day for All Mothers
I remember celebrating Mother's Day while growing up. In our church, mothers were honored with special gifts of appreciation. There were gifts for the youngest mother, the oldest mother, and the mother with the most children. It was customary that every mother in attendance wear a beautiful corsage of flowers that coordinated with the colors of her dress that day. In our home, we always tried to give mom the day off, and either take her out to eat or cook her a nice meal and clean the dishes. All the children would pitch in to try to make mom's day special. Somehow it never seemed possible to return as much appreciation as we felt like she deserved, but we tried in our own ways to demonstrate our love for our mom. Even now, I find it difficult to fully express my heart-felt gratitude, for a mom who made so many sacrifices for me in so many ways, but I make sure I give it my best shot to honor her each year on Mother's Day.
Since I became a mom, myself, my children have poured their attention and affection toward me, and it warms my heart to be the object of their love for a day. Their handmade cards, finger painting, big smiles and hugs have proven to be priceless and certainly more than I feel that I deserve. At times, I have received acrostic poems with personal character attributes for me listed for each letter of my name. It's always so neat to see the values and the thoughtfulness that I have taught them over the years return as an unexpected blessing to me. And of course, the one-of-a-kind gifts, lovingly wrapped with lots and lots of scotch tape are special keepsakes!
Although corsages are not as customary for moms my age anymore, one of my favorite things for mother's day is a bouquet of fresh flowers for the dining room table. If no one remembers that I like them, I treat myself and the family to an inexpensive but beautiful bouquet. The fragrance fills the room, and the pretty colors display God's splendid creation and bring a welcome smile.
Another fun thing that we've added to our celebration is to take the afternoon and watch home videos of the family. We started this several years ago, and we have enjoyed remembering all the fun times we've had. Before we started watching home movies on special occasions like Mother's Day, it seemed like we were always taking videos of different events but never stopping to watch them. Now, we are assured that at least we get to enjoy them one day each year.
Mother's Day is also time for me to remember my mother-n-law and thank her for the gift of her son to be my husband, and my children's father. I also thank her for her meaningful attributes like her thoughtfulness.
I like to remember all the mother figures in my life on Mother's Day! There are several mothers I know that are "spiritual" mothers, "family" mothers and "nurturing" mothers rather than biological mothers. One such special someone, is my mom's sister, "Aunt Jeanette," who stayed with me when my daughter was born, and makes life special for all who know her; and my grandmother's sister, my great aunt, "Aunt Midge," who made me dresses when I was a little girl and even now, at age 92, shares her humor and her homemade apple jelly with me and takes a special interest in my life and the lives of my children. When I am able, I make an effort to extend my appreciation to them on Mother's Day as well.
I would encourage you to make it a part of your day of celebration to celebrate all the special women who offer love, nurture and guidance to us all. Happy Mother's Day!
Copyright © 2008-2015 Debbie Reynolds Harper
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