For Mom
This weekend is Mother’s Day, the time when we honor our mothers, both the ones who have given birth to us as well as others who have nurtured us, mentored us, and loved us. Don’t forget the grandmothers, too. We take them out to brunch, give them corsages to wear to church and along with lots of cards and gifts.
When I was growing up my grandfather would always purchase orchid corsages for grandma, my mother, and my aunt to wear to church. He would put them in the refrigerator on Saturday. When this tradition fell to my father’s responsibility after Pappy passed, he too procured the orchid corsages and put them in the refrigerator. Leave it to my aunt to point out that he purchased silk orchids which did not need to be kept cold. We no longer carry on this tradition, but we still laugh about it.
I’ve got a new tradition for Mother’s Day: I give my mom a load of crap. Most mothers don’t appreciate crap from their kids, but then again, most mothers don’t have children who are farmers. Each year I load up at least 100 pounds of good crap to give to mom for Mother’s Day. She even asks for it now a few weeks in advance to make sure I don’t forget.
Mom isn’t a farmer and I did not grow up on a farm, but she still keeps a small vegetable garden, enough for herself and when there is a bumper crop, enough for her neighbors. The excess cucumbers and zucchini get set out at the end of her sidewalk on a little plastic stool with a handmade sign that says FREE. Last week I was talking to one of her neighbors who says he looks forward to her extra zucchini every summer since he is not a gardener.
The crap I give mom now as an adult is much better than the grief and aggravation I gave her as a teenager. But in addition to the manure, there is always an entire flat of flowers, specifically red wax begonias that for Mother’s Day we plant in her flower pots and boxes set around her yard. Each year they produce colorful blossoms that bring of vibrancy to the home in which I grew up. With Sunday being a market day, I don’t get to spend the day with Mom and that’s OK because each year she goes on her beloved quilt retreat this week and spends Mother’s Day doing something that she enjoys, truly a wonderful way to celebrate.
Last week my sister was in town from New England. She is not a farmer so she brought Maine lobsters for our early Mother’s Day celebration. For our family, Mother’s Day is every day we see our mom. She took good care of us growing up and as adults we take good care of her.
This Mother’s Day if you are looking for something fun to do with mom, take her to the farmers market and let her pick out whatever she wants. There is food, flowers, and assorted other goodies. But the most important thing to do is spend time with her and tell her how much you love her. And don’t give her any crap, unless it is from your compost pile.