By Lou Phelps
Mother’s Day evokes childhood memories of burnt toast and homemade gifts, or hours stressing over how to spend a one dollar allowance at the 5-and-10 cents store to buy the perfect gift for Mom.
I had three brothers, all of us close in age, and my memories include the annual ritual of making our Mom breakfast in bed, with a lot arguing in the kitchen over who would cook the scrambled eggs or pour the juice or decorate the tray. We would then proudly deliver the tray along with our gifts to her bedroom where she would ooh and ahh over the treasures, as she choked down burnt toast and cold coffee!
As I had children of my own, it was wonderful to watch them repeat the same dance of breakfast in bed for Mom while I pretended to be asleep, despite the clatter and banging of pots coming from the kitchen.
As they have gone off to college and become adults living in distant cities, they continue to be wonderful to me on Mother’s Day. There are always cards and sometimes even flowers or gifts. One year when my son was about 29, he called to say that he was coming to Savannah for a two day visit, alone, just to see me, without his wife, just to have “alone time with me.” And we just walked around the city, and went out to great meals, and talked. It will always be a favorite memory for me.
Another year, each of my two daughters decided to mail me interesting presents purchased through gourmet gift catalogues, the kind of gift that arrives with a nicely typed out gift card from the manufacturer. The problem was, both signed “From your Princess.”
When, I called to thank them, I wasn’t sure who had given me what, of course, and they were stunned to learn that the other sister thought THEY were my “princess,” for their special pet name. We had to make a family decision that Beth was “princess” and Carolyn was “pumpkin” going forward. Ah….families.
Which got me to thinking, how do other Savannahians celebrate Mother’s Day, and what are some of their traditions and childhood memories?
For Becky Smith, whose parents’ anniversary falls almost on Mother’s Day each year, her childhood memories are that the celebration of the two events were blurred together. But now that she’s older, she and her Mom Lucile always “go out for brunch, or do something girly like go out and get our nails done,” says Becky.
From a guy’s point of view, David Brown, says that he does nothing special on Mother’s Day per se, but rather goes out to lunch with his Mom to spend time with her throughout the year. “Our family agreed years ago that we weren’t going to make a big deal of just the one day,” he adds.
Mother’s Day is a perfect time for life lessons taught by Dad, encouraging kids to make Mom a homemade card versus just buying one and signing their name.
All they need is a shoe box with scissors, glue, markers, pens and some construction paper of various colors, with one sheet folder in half as the card. It’s amazing what they will invent! And, each will be a treasure that Mom will keep for years to come.
I have a scrapbook of almost every card the kids have ever given me, no matter the holiday. I think they enjoy looking back over what they created or wrote at various stages of their lives. They howl with laughter now, sitting in the living room and giving each other a hard time about their spelling, handwriting and creative endeavors. Great memories at Mother’s Day and throughout the year.
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