The Perfect Gift Idea for Mother’s Day This Year
Jodi Davis
| 4 min read
Today I wanted to dedicate my post to all the moms out there. With Mother’s Day approaching, I feel it’s only appropriate to focus on every woman out there who gives so much of herself without expecting anything in return. The love a mother has for her children is indescribable; there are absolutely no words to express the feelings she holds in her heart for those who give her the title of “mom.” I think if you asked all the moms you know what they really wanted for Mother’s Day they would answer, “I don’t really need anything. I just want to spend time with my children; for me that is the perfect gift.”
Cherish the Time
It’s true, isn’t it? How many of us mothers don’t cherish the time spent with our children? From the moment they are born we want to hold and embrace them endlessly. Sure, there may be a few times during their adolescent years when we appreciate the time they spend away from us while they are gone at school, but when they walk through the front door again, it is always a great feeling.
And I can remember being that child, all those hours being away at school each day and the feeling I had when I walked into our home to see my mom waiting for me. She made me feel as if nobody else in the world mattered but me. Moms have a way of doing that, you know. I enjoy those simple memories and I wouldn’t trade them for the world; honestly, I don’t think she would either.
I consider myself very lucky to know that I can still talk to my mom about the “old days” from when I was just a little girl. It’s funny that to this very day she’ll roll her eyes when she recalls how I just had to watch “Gilligan’s Island” at four o’clock each afternoon — a show she called “absolutely ridiculous” when she’d hear the theme song start to play. I’d sing along (“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a faithful trip …”) to the entire song just to bother her, smiling the entire time. That’s what daughters are for, right? (You’re singing already, aren’t you?)
But I wasn’t always smiling. There was a point in my life when I wasn’t sure if those days had come to an abrupt end. When she suffered her heart attack a few years ago, I learned to cherish my time spent with her even more.
The Most Important Gift
Now that I think about it, if someone asked me — from the child’s point of view — what I wanted for Mother’s Day, I could answer in the same way: “I don’t really need anything. I just want to spend time with my mom. For me that is the perfect gift.” But the thing is … in order to spend time with her, she has to take the initiative to give herself something first. A gift, so to speak.
This gift I’m referring to is the gift of good health. No, I can’t give it to my mom — it’s one of the few things I can’t find at the local mall and purchase for her. I can’t place it in a gift box or decorate it with a pretty bow. Even if I had all the money in the world, I still wouldn’t be able to give it to her. It’s one of the gifts she can’t expect from anyone other than herself.
The gift of good health is something I must give myself as well. My kids expect me to do it. It would be very selfish of me not to. I was selfish during those many years when I wasn’t focused on my own good health, allowing myself to believe that being morbidly obese was just fine. My focus was solely on my children’s needs. It’s probably safe to say that’s the same for most moms. Just make certain we have happy and healthy children.
But you must give yourself the gift of good health in order to be there for your kids, no matter what their age. I’m in my 40s and I wish to be around decades more.
Hey, when my children are in their 40s and ask me what I want for Mother’s Day, I can give the same answer I give them today: “I don’t really need anything. I just want to spend time with you — my children. For me that is the perfect gift.”
And honestly … it really is.
Happy Mother’s Day.
