This year, Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 14th. And as that date fast approaches, many of us find ourselves wandering through the plethora of gifts available for Mom, trying to find just the right gift for our special lady. Here are some great options for the mother in your life.
The traditional gifts never go out of style. A beautiful bouquet of flowers or a lovely potted plant will make many a woman thrilled on Mother’s Day. In many areas, lilies bloom near Mother’s Day, and can be a lovely remainder to her every year of your devotion. Jewelry is always a wonderful idea; for the new mother or grandmother, try a bracelet or necklace with charms with the baby’s birthstone for a gift she’ll treasure for years.
If the mother for whom you’re shopping is more difficult to please, perhaps a gift basket with an assortment of similar items would suit her fancy. Such a basket could easily include things like candles, chocolates, bath items, jewelry, even clothing. Just make sure that it’s something that speaks to her as an individual, and she’s that much more likely to love it.
Many ladies have hobbies which are near and dear to them.If the mother for whom you’re shopping is like this, why not find something to enhance their favorite free time activity? If she’s a scrap booker, consider a fabulous new bag in which she can carry all of her supplies, a punch she’s been eyeing for awhile, or a subscription to her favorite magazine for layout ideas. For the gardener, a new pair of comfortable garden clogs or a special type of seed might be just what she needs to brighten her summer. The mother who loves to cook would especially enjoy a new gadget that would cut her prep time in half or an ingredient on which she wouldn’t normally splurge like exceptional cooking chocolate or perfectly aged herbed oil. A gift that’s specialized to her interests is sure to bring a smile to her face.
If the mother in your life is like many modern women, constantly scurrying from one side of town to the other and always on the go, help her splurge on herself this Mother’s Day. A gift certificate to a local spa for a day of pampering would more than help to soothe her worries away! If a whole day of pampering is out of your range, try a great warmed stones massage or maybe a manicure and pedicure combination.
For the lady for whom it’s absolutely impossible to get out of the house to pamper herself, why not bring the pampering to her! There are many wonderful home spa kits available that are sure to reinvigorate her. Whether it’s something like a home pedicure bath or just a collection of effervescent bath salts, the little things will help to make her Mother’s Day more memorable.
Have a mother in your life who just has it all or just is trying to minimize?Then a gift that includes time with you would be welcomed without adding to her household clutter. Try tickets to the theater, symphony, or a ballet. Maybe a gift certificate to her favorite restaurant would suit. Or maybe just a collection of tickets for tasks that you’ll take care of for her in the near future. If you include yourself in the gift, you can’t go wrong.
Most importantly, though, give her Mother’s Day off. Nothing will make her feel more treasured than knowing that you care enough to take over for the day. If there’s a dinner planned, make sure you can prepare and cook as much of it as possible. If there are children around, take charge of them for the day. Give her this day as downtime, and it’ll recharge her batteries better than any gift could do.
When it comes right down to it, what a mother wants most of all is to know that you love her and appreciate all that she does and continues to do. And whether you have pennies or thousands of dollars to spend, you can always find something that shows her just how much you care.
for more here
posting by Id4_dani
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
the History of the World of The Greatest Mom
The story of one man's adoration for his mom.
Everyone thinks their mom is the Greatest Mom in the History of the World. When I was a child, my friends always used to try to claim that their mom was the best, and a scuffle would break out. I would just stand to the side and smirk; they were, of course, all wrong. How could their mom be the best when mine obviously had the title?
My mother was a single mom. My father walked out on us before I was even born. He just left for cigarettes when Mom was 6 months pregnant and never came back. Mom figured that if he wanted to go that badly, she’d just let him stay gone. And so he was.
When I was two, my mother realized that our rented room in the worst part of New York City just wasn’t where she wanted me to grow up. I was a typical two-year-old boy, active and into everything. The day I picked up a used needle to play with was the day she decided to get us out.
Unfortunately, with little money, her options were limited. She did have one very key skill, though – she was fluent in French. Her parents migrated from France just prior to World War II, and her home growing up had been French-only. So when she found the ad for a program to teach English to teens in the French countryside, she jumped at the chance and moved us to France.
I spent the next 13 years of my life in France. As part of the arrangements, we received a house in the village in which we could live and Mom could privately tutor in her spare time. Until I was fully fluent, Mom always spoke French at home. By the time I was 4, you couldn’t pick my accent from the other children in our village. Once I was fluent, we fluctuated between French and English at home, mostly English.
We never had a lot of money, but it always seemed like we had plenty. I never went without. It helped, of course, that life in the village was very inexpensive. Little did I know that Mom was stashing away every sou she could for our return to the US. I just grew up and did what I was expected to do. I earned superb marks in Primary and early Secondary school, and never got into behavioral problems beyond those that are standard for kids growing up.
When I was 13, Mom announced that it was time to move back to the US. She wanted me to attend an American high school and college. I didn’t want to go; I wanted to remain in France with the people with whom I had grown up. Mom knew, however, that I had to return to the US if I was to have any sort of a future.
We returned to New York, but came back considerably better off than we had left. Mom enrolled me in a prestigious private school; I went on a combination of a scholarship, tuition benefits, and her savings. We lived in a small row house near my school, and she taught French to the elementary students at the school. Graduation came, and I was accepted to an Ivy League university. Money was never a question; Mom wanted me to have the best education possible.
Mother’s Day is always a big holiday for me. When I think about what my mother sacrificed to raise me as she wanted, it absolutely boggles my mind. I lavish her with gifts every year, trying to top the previous years. But the one gift that remains constant is a box of fine French chocolates. I started this tradition in college, saving the few pennies I had to send her the box. But I’ve always wanted to silently thank her for what she did with a treat that she would always gaze at longingly in the shops in our village in France, but never actually purchase.
Years have passed, and I’m now a successful corporate attorney for one of the Fortune 100 firms. As my salary has grown, I’ve done everything possible to take care of Mom when she lets me. She tends to balk when I try to give her big ticket items, but I can slip little things by with her just smiling at me. And every time I give her that box of French chocolates, she gets a small tear in her eye as she bites into the first one.
for more here
posting by id4_dani
Everyone thinks their mom is the Greatest Mom in the History of the World. When I was a child, my friends always used to try to claim that their mom was the best, and a scuffle would break out. I would just stand to the side and smirk; they were, of course, all wrong. How could their mom be the best when mine obviously had the title?
My mother was a single mom. My father walked out on us before I was even born. He just left for cigarettes when Mom was 6 months pregnant and never came back. Mom figured that if he wanted to go that badly, she’d just let him stay gone. And so he was.
When I was two, my mother realized that our rented room in the worst part of New York City just wasn’t where she wanted me to grow up. I was a typical two-year-old boy, active and into everything. The day I picked up a used needle to play with was the day she decided to get us out.
Unfortunately, with little money, her options were limited. She did have one very key skill, though – she was fluent in French. Her parents migrated from France just prior to World War II, and her home growing up had been French-only. So when she found the ad for a program to teach English to teens in the French countryside, she jumped at the chance and moved us to France.
I spent the next 13 years of my life in France. As part of the arrangements, we received a house in the village in which we could live and Mom could privately tutor in her spare time. Until I was fully fluent, Mom always spoke French at home. By the time I was 4, you couldn’t pick my accent from the other children in our village. Once I was fluent, we fluctuated between French and English at home, mostly English.
We never had a lot of money, but it always seemed like we had plenty. I never went without. It helped, of course, that life in the village was very inexpensive. Little did I know that Mom was stashing away every sou she could for our return to the US. I just grew up and did what I was expected to do. I earned superb marks in Primary and early Secondary school, and never got into behavioral problems beyond those that are standard for kids growing up.
When I was 13, Mom announced that it was time to move back to the US. She wanted me to attend an American high school and college. I didn’t want to go; I wanted to remain in France with the people with whom I had grown up. Mom knew, however, that I had to return to the US if I was to have any sort of a future.
We returned to New York, but came back considerably better off than we had left. Mom enrolled me in a prestigious private school; I went on a combination of a scholarship, tuition benefits, and her savings. We lived in a small row house near my school, and she taught French to the elementary students at the school. Graduation came, and I was accepted to an Ivy League university. Money was never a question; Mom wanted me to have the best education possible.
Mother’s Day is always a big holiday for me. When I think about what my mother sacrificed to raise me as she wanted, it absolutely boggles my mind. I lavish her with gifts every year, trying to top the previous years. But the one gift that remains constant is a box of fine French chocolates. I started this tradition in college, saving the few pennies I had to send her the box. But I’ve always wanted to silently thank her for what she did with a treat that she would always gaze at longingly in the shops in our village in France, but never actually purchase.
Years have passed, and I’m now a successful corporate attorney for one of the Fortune 100 firms. As my salary has grown, I’ve done everything possible to take care of Mom when she lets me. She tends to balk when I try to give her big ticket items, but I can slip little things by with her just smiling at me. And every time I give her that box of French chocolates, she gets a small tear in her eye as she bites into the first one.
for more here
posting by id4_dani
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