ALT-3 Mothers Day Traditions Memorable Ways to Celebrate
Every single year of my adult life, my Mom and I had a fight on Mother's Day! We lived in a large city and we began by growling at each other, probably criticizing the one who was driving when indeed we were upset at the snarl of traffic that is always present on her Day. We were annoyed when we couldn't find a parking place that pleased us and we were unhappy when we had to wait for a table. We were always unable to find a place for my Mom to sit down while we waited...and waited. We grew impatient and uncomfortable. One of us would fretfully remove her suit jacket and then put it on again only minutes later. The other might slip out of a high heeled pump and stand crooked, clutching the treacherous shoe. When we were at last seated, we were positive the waiter had been hired that very day and our meal was so hurried we were convinced his "real job" was being an efficient and excellent fireman!
And once it began, it was not possible to recapture our earlier in the day rosy glow of love and gratitude we so badly wanted to express and celebrate. Our Mother's Day inevitably ended with the feeling we had wasted both our time and money. Worse, we felt we had not celebrated anything whatsoever. I was awkward and dissatisfied and a little lonely afterward, and I'm certain my Mom felt similarly.
After several years of this, although the restaurants were different and while my Mom had on a new pink suit one year and I wore mischievous black and white spectator pumps the next, we acknowledged that last year and the year before were essentially the same. Further, we realized that just about everyone has a mother they want to do something wonderful with on her Day. We made a new plan and it worked out beautifully; the following Mother's Day we didn't go anywhere, didn't even talk on the phone, and we both stayed at home in our separate residences!
However, on the Sunday before Mother's Day we chose a restaurant where we had never been before that my Mom had found. There was only the usual Sunday traffic. We were blessed to immediately find a terrific parking spot. We did not have to wait to be seated at a charming table overlooking the sea and we thoroughly enjoyed a sparkling meal that was filled with joy and laughter. The service was impeccable and the waitress inquired if we were perhaps celebrating a birthday. "No," my Mom replied, giving her a wink, "but it is Mother's Day, isn't it?" It became a lively, rewarding and quite special time for us. Some years we chose the Sunday before Mother's Day and, as often as not, it was the Sunday after, yet for all the remaining years my Mother was on the planet we shared and celebrated, in that fashion, our Mother's Day.
The experience so inspired me that now, to honor Mother's Day, I seek out a friend who is also a mother and who is estranged from her daughter or whose son is away at college or who, for whatever reason, feels sad or disillusioned or is somehow discontent. I have my car washed, I wear something comfortable, feminine andpleasing to the eye, and I take her an armful of spring flowers. Then I drive her to a restaurant she chooses and I treat her to the meal and time of day she prefers...on the Sunday before or after Mother's Day.
