Happy Mother’s Day to those who qualify.  😛

As we get bombarded by flower, jewelry, and and plenty of “pamper her” offers, let’s not forget that none of that really means as much as time spent together.  The mother who has spent so many years giving her time and energy raising you probably needs no more in return than attention and love given back to her.  Though giving things is a popular way of showing affection, I think it’s much nicer if you can take the time to spend the day/weekend with her.  After all, how much effort does it take to buy something and have it sent to her?

So year after year, it is a family tradition to celebrate various occasions and holidays just by going out to dinner.  Of course I will treat her in this case, and take her to get the moisturizer she said she needed.  But flowers?  I find those the most unnecessary gift of all.  They only last a week or two and especially for my mom, she’s got plenty growing in her backyard.  A bouquet looks nice only for a fleeting moment, but the waste of resources to produce it… well, it’s just not very eco-friendly, so I’m opting out.  She’d get better use out of a pack of seeds or a little pot of freshly sprouted seedlings.

In the future, I hope my kids would do the same – make an effort to see me and spend time with me (and if not, a fun ecard or homemade video is so much more meaningful than a pile of flowers that thousands of other mothers got).  I hope everyone is celebrating happily and enjoying what is a beautiful day out on the west coast.  Go for a stroll and grab some dessert or something.  I say do something with her and have some quality bonding time.  🙂