Happy Mother’s Day

By Diane Forrest

M - O - T - H - E - R

"M" is for the million things she gave me,

"O" means only that she's growing old,

"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,

"H" is for her heart of purest gold;

"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,

"R" means right, and right she'll always be,

Put them all together, they spell

"MOTHER,"

A word that means the world to me.

Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

Today is a day set aside to pay honor to our mothers.  Everyone has a mother.  They come in all shapes and sizes, young or old, sweet or mean, rich or poor, and everywhere in between.  According to Wikipedia, the modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s. Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world. In this tradition, each person offers a gift, card, or remembrance toward their mothers, grandmothers, and/ or maternal figure on mother's day.

This past week I went to see my son for Mother's day.   His wife had gone out of town to visit her mother, and he had to stay behind to work, and "mother" his 3 dogs.  We had a wonderful relaxed visit.  It was the first time I had seen his new home, and we went out for a wonderful Italian dinner.  Of course when we came back from dinner, I spent the rest of the night cleaning the mess he had left for his wife. I guess mom's will always pick up after their kids...or is that just me?  We met for lunch the next day near his office, then I headed back home, wanted to beat the bad weather that was rolling in.

Mother's day is not about what to buy her; I have been reading several sites that offer suggestions about what she wants, what she doesn't want and things to surprise her with.  Personally the best gift I can get is spending time with my son, some younger mothers may want to spend time away from their children..hahaha.

Today is Mother's Day, if you are able, spend some time with your mom, eat lunch or brunch or dinner or give her a call if you are too far away. If your mother is no longer around, spend the day with an aunt or other family member, or even an elderly neighbor who is spending the day alone.

We at KISBYTO would like to wish all the mothers out there a very “Happy Mother's Day”.  How do you plan to spend the day?  

(All images from Google)