Ju st wanted to wish all the mother's out there a very happy mother's day!!!
Happy Mother's Day!
by Evesapple 6 Replies latest jw friends
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Stefanie
Thank you,
And welcome to the board!
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gumby
Happy Mothers Day to you too!
I want to know something though. Hows come a husband is supposed to get something for his wife on Mothers Day when she ain't even his mother?
Gumby
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Special K
Thank you
Special K
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Evesapple
Gumby,
A husband gets something for his wife because he appreciates her as the mother of his children...:)
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gumby
Gumby,
A husband gets something for his wife because he appreciates her as the mother of his children...
I thought that's what Valentines Day was for? Which reminds me.....how come theres a Valentines day where a woman gets stuff from a guy.....and there ain't a day like that so the guy gets stuff? Huh?How come? Dudes are gettin ripped off! Gumby
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joannadandy
James Lileks, Star Tribune May 9, 2004 LIL09
When my wife opens her Mother's Day card today, I expect her to wonder what I was thinking. Perhaps I had squirted Tabasco in my eyes, pawed blindly through the Hallmark rack and bought whatever card I ended up clutching the hardest. But then I'll explain that her child chose this garish thing, and that will make it wonderful. Anything our kids give us is precious. Except for pinkeye, maybe. Parents are like that -- a kid can hand you a Popsicle stick smeared with honey and fire ants, say "I made this for you!" and you melt like sherbet in a smelter. Even after they've figured out this angle.You really shouldn't upbraid a 4-year-old for choosing a card whose artistic themes are regrettable. But otherwise, how do they learn? So it was time for a little talk. I began thus:
Come here, child. I've scanned the card and make this Powerpoint presentation so we don't have this problem again. First, do you see this typeface they use for Mother? All those swirls are meant to convey a cloying aroma of sentimentality. It's as if they think that the typeface alone demonstrates your love, when in fact you're just buying into a concept the cardmakers themselves have invented -- that is, namely, that love must be proved with greetng cards -- preferably oversized ones that require additional postage. Do you understand?
"I don't want tacos for supper, Daddy. I want fishsticks."
Fine. Now let's discuss the iconography. There's a rather banal gauzy pastel drawing of flowers, which are intended to connote femininity, nurturing, spring, and other such ideas. I have to ask: Does anything in our house suggest that this style of drawing is consistent with Mommy's taste?
"Can I play outside?"
In a minute. We have to discuss the text, which is well, typical of a culture content to lavish praise on motherhood once a year but fails to provide a six-year paid leave for each child, for example. I'll leave aside the poetry, which has the flat, predictable flavor of a pound of Sweet'n Low. Look at this line: "To the best mother ever." Does that strike you as an empirically sound assertion? I mean, the card has no say over who buys it. The card could be purchased by someone whose mother was, in fact, the worst mother since the development of agriculture discouraged nomadic behavior and thus gave rise to stable nuclear families. Correct?
"Micah said 'poop' in school today."
All right, that's enough for now. Run along.
There was one card at the store that gave me pause. You have several categories of Mother's Day cards: "From Husband," "From Grandparents," "From Distant Relative Hopeful for Inclusion in Will," "From Tax Assessor," etc. And this: "From the Dog."
If you're giving a Mother's Day card from the dog, that would make Mom a b-
No, no. Family paper. But you get the idea. There's something wrong about a card from the dog, and I say that as someone who would have bought such a thing five years ago. It's like a Mother's Day card from a lamp, or the furnace. Dogs are not furry children and we are not shaved parents. To think otherwise isn't fair to dogs. It puts responsibilities on them they cannot understand or fulfill. They are bonded to you, yes, but not like children. It's part of their hard-wired desire to have a place in a pack.
Put it this way: If your child went to live with another family, they wouldn't forget you after they'd been fed steak for six days.
You have to have kids to understand this, I think, which is why the whole idea of Mother's Day cards from the dog is a bit peculiar. Kids put dogs in their place. I didn't really understand Jasper Dog until I stopped looking at him as My Little Fella and saw him as my personal wolf. He was certainly happier. This meant fewer hugs. Smart dogs don't understand hugs. They really wish you wouldn't. In this respect they are like children, but only teenagers.
But I'm rambling. My point: Anything the child gives Mom is enough, in Mom's eyes but oh, how we learn to coast once we know we can get by. She'll tell you that a card is enough, a call is just fine, please, don't go out of your way, you're busy. Just send me a can of soup someday, that'll be fine. Chicken noodle. If you can find it. Otherwise, just some water will be fine. Don't send me water. I'll just turn on the tap and think of you. Here's 10 dollars. Go buy a scarf. I know, I know, it's May, but it'll be cold soon enough.
So you learn one true lesson:
The smallest gift fills up her day.
But this makes it easy not to learn the second lesson of life:
You owe her the biggest gift you can conceive. I lost my mom before I had a child of my own, before I got the perspective you get when the wet squalling rutabaga in the delivery room is your child, and the world suddenly resets. But in the end you can still learn the third lesson:
The best way to thank your mother for everything she gave you is to give it to your child every day. If you don't have one yet, do something extra for your mom this year. Cards and flowers are nice. But make this Mother's Day truly different. One she'll remember forever.
Give her a dog.
Charming article I found in the paper today--just thought I would share