Hopkinton Thanks Its Mothers, Always in Our Corner

Mother's Day is a day to pay tribute to all moms, including ourselves.

On Mother's Day, I like to do my favorite thing: nothing!  Our family Mother's Day tradition starts with my kids making pancakes and sausage for me. The kitchen looks like a bomb exploded afterwards, but they love creating their own masterpieces and serving me with pride.

Our kitchen table is festooned with fresh wildflowers, and homemade cards from my family. Nothing gives me greater joy that waking up to a room filled with love and appreciation from my husband and children.

For my out-of-town mother and mother-in-law, I purchased cards where you can decorate and  record your own messages.

Recording songs and messages in unison, were both challenging and comical. The first challenge was to pick the best music.

My kids thought AC-DC was perfect, but  after thoughtful consideration, we settled on a classical jazz ensamble. After recording, and re-recording, eight times, we finally got it right.

My mother just turned 93, and is hard of hearing, so we had to sing a little louder on her recording. I hope the postmaster doesn't inadvertenly press the button on our card, or he will get the shock of his life!

My sons were delighted to decorate cards to their grandmothers with pictures of the family and write personal messages. I can picture the joy on their grandmothers' faces on Mother's Day morning when they open these.

Being busy moms ourselves affords us a deeper understanding of the challenges it took for our mothers to raise us.

Growing up, I would roll my eyes when my mom told me, "Wear a coat. Turn off the lights. Dry your hair. Wear sunscreen. Don't worry, there are many more fish in the sea."  

I find myself repeating the very same things to my own children. (Sorry Mom!)

Sitting at the baseball fields this weekend, I noticed many moms tending to their young children in buggies, wiping noses, fetching water bottles, packing equipment bags, and enthusiastically cheering on their kids as they made their way to the batter's box.

With the seemingly endless tasks we provide everyday toward our families, there is one common thread that moms share: pride in our children.

No matter how many times they strike out, skin their knees, forget their homework or talk back, a mother's love for her children is endless.

" A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us;  when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." - Washington Irving

Happy Mother's Day!