Happy Hallmark Holiday # 7,084,329,384,957 It’s Mother’s Day!

So…another Hallmarked Holiday approaches and I have yet to spend my year’s savings on a pair of illegal crystallized carbon earrings or on fragrant, bottled liquid gold to validate my love for my mother. Isn’t her love for me supposed to be unconditional? Since when do I have to sell my kidney on the black market to afford a “decent” present to display my appreciation and love for her? When have meaningless material things replaced good ol’ fashioned homemade cards created out of love, sweat, tears, cardstock, crayons and glue sticks? What about those soft, colorful flowers created by hand out of intertwined pipe cleaner and tissue paper? Who cares about farmed roses that wilt in four days...pipe cleaner stands time!

In truth, I accidentally called Mom a Sunday too early and spouted “I miss you, I love you, I’ve been so busy, Happy Mum Day” sonnets, only to have her call me a few hours later that day laughing, calling me a dork and telling me that “Mother’s Day is next Sunday silly! Hahaha, I love you!” Yes...I suck as a daughter.

Now, having an extra week to decide on a love token because I’m an idiot, I perused sappy cards with gooey words and poems, I thought about 1-800-Flowers, I even took a gander online and thought to myself “What could I buy her that she doesn’t already have?” Then the buzzer went off in my head...EEEEEEEHHHH! All wrong answers; A gift should always just come from the heart, not be forced out of me by trick of clever marketing schemes. I had fallen victim to this hallmark day and an accompanying feeling of guilt at not sending my mother a happy, shiny gift.

To be fair, my mother is less than impressed by extravagant crap gifts spouting fountains of golden love showers; she is beyond touched by the more meaningful and thought intensive displays.

So, I have decided to regress back to my youthful days of scrawling “I Love You Mom” across a sheet of crunchy, bright blue construction paper with pudgy fingers and a Crayola Marker. Along with this, adult me will (have) put together a compellation of digital photos and videos of us together over the past few years into a fun DVD format for her viewing pleasure…may she tear up and smile!

Of course…this will all be late and definitely will not arrive on time for an early, crisp spring morning, Sunday read, however I am confident that regardless, my Mother will still love me and all my inadequacies at calling too early and at sending a gift too late…after all it is the thought that ultimately counts…not the gift.