A Nice Day in May

The subject of Mother's Day gifts came up this morning while I was feeding the baby and The Partner was getting ready for his day job.

"You've already got your Mother's Day gift," The Partner said, nodding toward the little sucker hanging off my chest. Then, in a tone that implied a wink even though his face was stoic, he added: "You're welcome."

***

True enough, Mother's Day 2008 came three weeks early for me. But the little guy is gift-and-take. Now that the official holiday is nigh, I wouldn't mind a plain ol' gift.

My stance on Mother's Day is the same as Valentine's Day--I'll embrace any excuse for a little pampering and positive attention. There are some people who say they have no need for a scheduled visit from St. Valentine because their lives are so chock full of romantic love on a daily basis, just as there are those mothers out there whose devotion is so continuously affirmed by their doting children and grateful partners that they don't need May flowers to bloom in their honor.

I am not one of those people.

Then there are the moms who have built up Mother's Day into a mountain so high it can never be summited. My own mother, for example, always has the same answer when asked what she wants for the holiday. "Good kids," she says. Ha, I say. I don't know if she's so delusional as to think that this is even a remote possibility or if her frugality dictates intangible wishes over commercial desires, but the fact of the matter is that she's setting herself up for disappointment. She should just ask for a gift certificate to the spa.

Mother's Day is what it is. It's not a substitute for love and care the rest of the year and it certainly doesn't have magical powers. It's a Sunday reminder to slow down and to recognize the creative energy behind our own life force, the community's, and the whole world's.

Motherhood is infinitely more grand than the second Sunday in May, but there's still a lot of celebration in that small square on the calendar. Whatever form the associated affirmation comes in--handmade card, hardcover book, bath salts, 50-minute massage, burnt bundt cake or cockeyed clay teacup--well, I'll take it. And I hope I'll always be grateful.



This post is part of the Parent Bloggers Network's partnership with Johnson’s in promotion of Johnson’s Baby Cause, powered by Global Giving. As part of their responsibility to the global community, Johnson’s has hand-selected dozens of charities around the world that mirror their deep commitment to caring for the health and well-being of mothers and children - not just on Mother’s Day, but every day of the year.