The Other Best Mother's Day Present

Mother's Day weekend has just begun and I'm already a little disappointed about how the weekend is going so far. It looks as if it's going to be mostly hustle and bustle. I don't think I'll be having the special family time that I wanted. Folks seem to have a different agenda. The moment I had that Thought I immediately began to feel guilty. I thought "What if I didn't have kids?". Before I had the girls, I always felt a little sad around this time of year. I would feel as though I was missing out on a wonderful experience, a part of who I was supposed to be. Now that I have kids, I'm complaining about not being able to turn that experience off when it suits me. These thoughts have brought me to the realization that there's more to Mother's Day than just honoring your mother, grandmother, aunt, etc.. Mother's Day should also be about every woman celebrating the ability to touch some one's life in any "mother like" capacity. I am truly grateful to be able to give other human beings the kind of unconditional love and acceptance that I had...The kind that everyone deserves. The opportunity touch some one's life in that "mother like" capacity is the other best Mother's Day present...the best every day present.

The Best Mother's Day Present

When I was younger, I thought that Mother's Day was supposed to be just the way it was portrayed on television shows and commercials. The mom, who takes care of everyone else all year, gets pampered for the day or weekend. The family would make her breakfast and present her with homemade gifts, sentimental cards and jewelry. After giving birth to the girls, The ideal gift was a break from taking care everyone and having my husband make one of my favorite dishes for a special meal. This year it's different. Every day I work to create balance between the wants, needs and dreams for each family member. My sensitive nature won't allow me to rest knowing that there's always something to be done. Like my family, I also have wants, needs and dreams. They need to be tended to as well. So, what I want for Mother's Day and every other day is respect. It's not too much too ask that my wants and needs be included on the family's to do list, like theirs is on mine. I know my dreams don't exactly coincide with my husband's plans for the family. Still, I deserve active support with the things that are truly important to me. Respect is the most basic and most important part of love. Respect is what requires you to treat a person the right way all of the time, regardless of what your feeling at that moment. If I could have this everyday, then I wouldn't care about Mother's Day. Instead, everyone could save their money and buy me an even better present for my birthday in June.