Mother's Day Woes

First off, Happy Mother's Day to everyone! Great job plugging away day after day! I am posting a statement as well as a question, so please leave me your thoughts. What do you think of as "Mother's Day?" It usually involves some semblance of getting pampered, fed breakfast, the kids are threatened by dad not to fight, a nice dinner, go to church and the kids sing some cute song, and a flower or some other little token that all the youth or men pass out to all the women. Sound about right?

Today I got ripped off. I got breakfast and Harmon excitedly gave me his special towel with his handprints. check, check. All very cute and wonderful. We get to church (only a couple minutes late) and there are a couple of nice talks (ours were actually very good), check, the kids get up to sing and look adorable, check and Harmon brings me back a nice silk flower. Okay?

A little odd, but I think, cool a bonus flower. Odd though, because only mothers with children in primary got a silk flower. Sacrament meeting ends and there is no announcement to stay seated while we give all the mothers a special gift. WHAT???? I was so looking forward to my little stinky marigold, or pansy, or petunia. I wanted to plant it, nurture it and watch it grow. Really I did! I haven't always felt that way but I've been doing some growing and I was really looking forward to it.

Maybe I am too nostalgic, but I was waiting for that fun gift. And do you know what else I really wanted today? Hold on to your hats because this is a departure as well. I really really wanted a beautiful corsage to wear on my blouse. For reals!! I even wore a necklace that was my great grandmothers. It's black and orange flowers (rhinestones) and pearls. Very vintage. Very 60's costume jewlery and aboslutely fabulous. There was one woman who had a corsage. I was so envious. I kind of thought corsages were so yesterday, but now it really appeals to me to get to wear a beautiful flower on my person......hmmm, maybe I have been putting too many flowers in ella's hair. That could account for my change of heart. Oh well, I still think it would have been a fun thing to wear. I may have to order one for myself next year!

I think somebody else thought it was a bad idea not to have something for the mothers because a member of the R.S. presidency made cookies for everyone. Wonderful gesture and a tasty cookie...but come on, where's my flower wrapped in tinfoil? I called my mother to complain. Her ward was even worse. They had the "men" make cookies to bring. Yah right, who made all the cookies? The mothers of course and then they passed them out to the very people that had to stress over getting cookies to church by 9 am. Brilliant! That's just what I want.

Then my mother told me the best story about my Grandpa Ray. He had strong feelings about mother's and when he was the Sunday school president he arranged for all the mother's to have a flower. In addition to that, he had a lovely potted plant for the oldest mother, the newest mother and the mother with the most children. My mom says that he was advised by his Bishop not to do that again. He did again the next year and found himself released from that calling. My mom did point out that he wasn't being obedient, but I think he did the right thing! Mothers work very hard every day and they DESERVE all those special little gestures that make it all worth it. A little extra credit. So many of our daily task are thankless. Why not soak it all in on the one day when you can?

I can't wait to find a safe keeping place for Harmon's little towel. It was a sweet treasure and my boys were precious today...most of the day. It was a good day. We had a nice meal and had some friends over whose husband left today for 4 months. How's that for a mother's day...have your husband leave. Yuck! Over all it was a nice day.

But I still wanted that half-dead, semi-tipsy, precious, beautiful, tinfoil covered little blooming treasure that probably would have died. Of course, there is always the slight possibility that I am just a touch hormonal today. Who knows.