mother love

I have a confession to make.

I don’t like Mother’s Day.

This is no way has to do with my own mother. It has to do with holidays that I think are manufactured by giant card companies so that they will make more money. I feel like they operate out of making all of us feel incredibly guilty and create all this hoopla about something we should just do. Simply, and on our own – appreciate our mothers.

Instead, we have every retailer, restaurateur, and florist, screaming at us in 4-foot high pastel exclamation marks. Mother’s Day is May 13th! Don’t forget Mother’s Day! Don’t you dare forget to get your mom a gift and take her out to brunch and buy her a card, you completely worthless ingrate!

Yes, I know it doesn’t say that – technically.

Each year though, I run up against this feeling. Let me say though, that I am basically challenged when it comes to anything involving gifts, dinners, celebrating things, because I am…how do I say this…cheap. So I waver on what I will or will not do, becoming quite the crabby patty in the process. This year – not much different.

I did make a little headway. I decided we’d have lunch at my house – the yummiest quiche that is my friend Rhonda’s recipe, my favorite spinach salad, Alison’s strawberry muffins. I can get excited about good food. My husband, Most Fantastic Giver of Gifts, had a great idea for getting my mom something she will love and use and that will make her very happy. We were getting geared up for the Day.

Once again, this reluctance has nothing to do with my mother, this woman who has taught me more by the way she lives her life than anyone else will ever be able to tell me with words alone. She is precious to me; her love tied to me the way only a mother’s is, tethering me to what is real and good and true. I love her dearly.

And, surprise of surprises, we had a wonderful mother’s day. Harold, one of our pastors, spoke to us deeply this morning, telling us stories of faithfulness, singing a song of his past that brought him to tears. Us, too.

An unexpected gift came this morning, one that I will get to pass along, one that I can’t wait to share. It is Jesus and love and people and real life – all wrapped into one.

Everyone was all hugs and good wishes this morning – hard to be grumpy when all that kindness is coming at you.

Then on to lunch at my house – good food (if I do say so myself), time together, simple gifts.

Did I even mention my own kids? Handmade cards, a coke brought to me (bought with their very own money), sweet gifts, lots of hugs and “happy mother’s day, mom” all day long. It doesn’t get any better than the things your kids write on those cards, does it?

A nap this afternoon. Later, another gift – what a wonder it is to have someone remember you!

Tonight, as she went to bed, Elizabeth said, “We had a good mother’s day, Mom, didn’t we?”

Yes, sweetie, we did.