About 3 weeks before Mother’s Day, my mom sent out an email to my siblings and me, expressing her desire for us to not do anything for her on Mother’s Day. I think her note to us shows what kind of a mother we have – a selfless mother, who always served and blessed her children’s lives, never wanting to impose upon us or have us wait upon her, serving us with unconditional love. I hope she won’t mind, but I want to share part of the email she sent to us:
“Hopefully I am not being presumptuous or sending the wrong intent of this letter. But I just want you to know that the very best Mother’s Day gift you could ever give me is the 5 days you 6 girls spent here with me!!! Nothing else would even match that! I want that to be my Mother’s Day gift from each one of you this year!! … Mother’s Day will be just so special when I think of the wonderful memories that were made and I reflect on all of “My Favorite Things”!!! …”
By the way, you need to understand that for Christmas, part of our gift to my parents was letting them know that we were going to all gather to visit them in April. All but one of their daughters and daughter-in-law live away from them and knowing that they would enjoy a visit, we wanted them to have something to look forward to.
As a side note: this isn’t a new thing for us to show up at their home as a “gift”. We chuckle about this idea – as if our presence is a perfect present! About 20 years ago we all arrived in my parent’s town and hid in my sister’s home for an afternoon until the time my parents were invited to her home to open up their combined birthday gift. When my parents showed up at my sister’s, we were hiding in a huge box with wrapping paper covering the box, including the opening at the top. When they saw such a big box, they were worried that they were being given some sort of an extravagant gift. That was troubling…they hated for us to spend money on them. As they gingerly tore into the box, 4 of us jumped out, almost causing two heart attacks! What an exciting surprise. They claim we were the best gift they could ever have! What a fun week we had with them. What a fun memory.
And so…our tradition of “us” being a gift continued…we told them this past December that part of our Christmas gift to them was a trip to their home in April.
As March approached, the month of my mom’s birthday, we all got an email from her requesting that our birthday gift to her be the trip we were still planning to make in April. Remember, this was part of our Christmas gift! And now she was asking for it to be her birthday gift too! And this is not because she forgot it was part of her Christmas gift, it’s just that she didn’t want us to have to worry about what to get her. So we agreed it would be her gift (but added a wreath for her door as an “extra”).
Well…in April we made our trip to their place and had a wonderful time visiting, eating, and just being together. My mom’s comment about “My Favorite Things” in her note above, is referring to some things we did while at my parents. Each of us took something to share with everyone, and we titled it: My Favorite Thing. We shared a variety of things, some including gifts. Our favorite things were: recipes for a healthier way to eat, a yummy waffle recipe and a special ingredient, a favorite smelling soap and lotion, instructions on Indexing, instructions on doing Genealogy work, demos on some great exercises, favorite bunt cakes to taste and share, how to sew a pillowcase without a raw seam, a favorite book, and watercolor painting instructions. What a truly, wonderful time we had with my parents and with each other. We enjoyed it as much as my mother said she enjoyed it.
And now…three weeks before Mother’s Day: Mom once again writes a note asking us to let our trip to their home take the place of our gift to her for Mother’s Day! I wrote back to her: “You are so cute mom!! Our trip… covered your Christmas gift, your birthday gift, and now Mother’s Day!! Wow!! A gift that keeps on giving! Well, I’m not sure it keeps on giving, but it does keep on covering EVERY occasion that comes along!”
So… in honor of my mom this Mother’s Day, I have written a post. This is not a tangible gift (because I told her I’d honor her desire, letting our visit be her gift for 3 occasions), but a gift to let her know, in print, that I love her.
I wish her a happy mother’s day and hope all you mother’s out there have a happy day too!
I love this video. Check it out: It Was Mom: A Mother’s Day Tribute to Moms
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