Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging
As a child, we would attend church on Mother’s Day, and all the females wore corsages. If your mother was living, you wore a red flower; if she was not, you wore a white flower in her memory. I don’t know if that was a widely practiced tradition, but in Arkansas City, KS, in the ’50s, everyone I knew practiced this ritual. As a child, it was curious because you would always be a little taken aback when you saw a white flower…after all, in the mind of an 8-year-old, everyone is supposed to have their mother living. I saw it as a real affirmation of the importance of motherhood, and I’m sure the florist loved it! Today we show our love and appreciation in many ways. It is the highest call volume of the year and the third-highest card-sending day. So begins the advertisements for spa days, jewelry stores, and restaurants. Unlike Christmas and Easter, I have no problem with the commercialization of Mother’s Day!
My observation (and experience) is that when you are a young mother, you want a day to yourself. The older you get, you want to spend the day with your children. It is all about time and attention. I have a suggestion for you. If your mom is a senior, why not spend the day talking about her life, looking backward and forward. What is she anticipating? Talk about her future, her hopes, and desires. What would she like to accomplish? What’s on her “bucket list?” How does she see these chapters of her life playing out? Make it all about her! For those of us who are already wearing the white corsage, I guarantee you we would cherish another conversation with Mom. No matter your age, no matter your relationship, someday you will miss your mom.