The ‘Ughs’ and ‘Ahs’ of Mother’s Day

For years I hated Mother’s Day.

Perhaps my expectations were too high. Oh, I’ll admit I wanted to be treated royally — breakfast in bed (something wonderfully good, maybe even gourmet), followed by presents (not a tiara, I wouldn’t have had a place to wear it anyway), but something nice that I’d be glad to have. After that, an afternoon adventure of some kind followed by a supper someone else cooked, maybe even a chef at a restaurant.

Yes, my expectations were sky-high. The realities were quite earth-bound. Sometimes, my sweet preschoolers presented me with lovely handmade wonders, thanks to a program they went to or some other mother’s foresight. My husband, reasoning that I wasn’t his mother, ignored the hoopla entirely and went fishing. So, for me, Mother’s Day was just another day that invovled extra duties: shopping for gifts for my mother and mother-in-law, wrapping them and delivering them by myself with the girls on the big day.

The situation was awful. My disappointment started long before the media spewed ads reminding folks to get out and shop. And then, I made a discovery: I was in charge! I didn’t have to sit home with my kids feeling sorry for myself. I ushered my girls into the car and picked up my mother-in-law (who was sitting home waiting for phone calls and visits, none of which were forewarned). We took off for the McD’s drive thru. Armed with lunch we settled at the picnic and playground area near the flower gardens in Milwaukee County’s Whitnall Park. We had lunch, the girls played, we looked at flowers, and, tired and a bit grubby, went back to McD’s for cones before we called it a day.

Mother’s Day became a delight! Easy lunch. Good company. Happy kids. Beautiful flowers. Ice cream cones.

The kicker came when we got home. My sisters- and brothers-in-laws weren’t happy with me, but after a year or two they caught on. Of course, the plan didn’t last very long. It fell apart when the girls hit the point where playgrounds weren’t the best thing in the whole world. But, for a while there, Mother’s Day was something special.