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Gandhi she’s not, but we love her a lot: Thanks, Mom!
Paul Sassone
Updated: May 10, 2012 3:48PM
I’m a reticent, shy kind of person.
Ostentatious displays of emotion are foreign to me.
So, it is difficult to select a Mother’s Day card for my mother.
Picking a design is easy: large, with colorful flowers. Moms like large, colorful flowers.
But the verse. That’s the problem. The verses are so gushy, so exaggerated. I’d feel embarrassed giving one of those cards to my mother:
“Mom, you’re the greatest Mom, you’re so dandy You’re a far better person than that Mahatma Gandhi.’’
What my mom and yours did was family: bore the children, raised the children, worked to support the family inside and outside the home, volunteered and did a myriad other things.
So, yeah, she deserves a day — at least.
And she deserves a card that reflects her real, impressive achievements, not the sugary, canned sentiments of a most likely laid-off journalist who had to choose between starvation and writing for a greeting card company.
How about a Mother’s Day card that simply states: “Thanks for everything you have done for me and the whole family. We all love you.’’
I can’t find one of those cards.
But I’m still looking. I have a few days.
The card you give your mom will be in addition to a gift, flowers and dinner out. Mom should not have to work on Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day is an important day because mothers are important.
On another special day, Thanksgiving, we are asked to ponder for whom are we thankful? I like to flip that question and ask: Who is thankful for you?
On Mother’s Day the answer becomes self-evident — your mother is always thankful for you.
And she is whether or not you free a country or cure a disease or write a concerto. You’re her child and that’s what matters to her.
See that your mother has a nice day to remember Sunday.
