To be quite frank, I wrote a really great Mothers Day post two years ago. I called it “Five words that describe my mom,” and it received some nice comments. That post continues to receive a lot of traffic—partly because of the topic, partly because of the title, and partly because Mothers Day comes around again every year and people naturally search for mother-related info. In fact, that Mothers Day post remains my third-most popular blog of all time!
And last year’s Mothers Day blog was fun— “4 things that annoy me about my mother.” It doesn’t get the traffic that “Five words” does, but it was fun to write, and my mom appreciated it.
Earlier this year my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary, and I blogged about that. “Love story” included my personal thoughts about my parents, a slideshow, and a link to one of the Facebook photo albums I posted in their honor.
That’s all wonderful, but, honestly, it leaves me in a bit of a quandary. I mean, how am I supposed to follow that?
What am I supposed to write for Mothers Day this year?
(Writers, have you run into this problem? When success leads to higher expectations that you’re increasingly afraid of not meeting?)
I’m pretty sure my mom would tell me, “Oh Melanie, you don’t have to write a blog for me!” But that’s kind of like saying, “I don’t need any presents. Just knowing you love me is present enough.”
Come on! I’m not falling for that!
So here is my Mothers Day blog for 2012. I’m hoping it will be disarming in its simplicity (the ol’ “less is more” approach), and I’m hoping it will reset expectations to a more manageable level—
Happy Mothers Day, Mom. I love you.
What else can I say?
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Nothing else needs to be said. As a mom, I know this truly is the best gift a son/daughter can give. Sounds like you and your mom are both lucky ladies!
I agree!
There’s nothing else you ever need to say.
I love you, too!
Aw, shucks—you’re making me blush, Mom!
So I’m thinking you could add a list of definitions to portray each one of those words and how they apply to the holiday in question.
Just Kidding the KISS method does work and since mother’s day is not just once a year but a lifetime of joy, tears and smiles —-
THIS SOUNDS GREAT!
St. Victor, you are so deeply creative that I don’t even fully understand what you just said, but I appreciate the sentiment behind it! Happy Mothers Day to you too!
Good morning Mel!
I think what you wrote is just perfect! Nothing more needs to be said.. I think your mom is wonderful too. She has an amazing sense of humor!
Have a great day!
Peggy, sorry for this delayed response—your comment was caught in my spam filter! Anyway, I agree completely with your observations. And my guess is, you and my mom have a lot of common experiences, so I can certainly understand why you appreciate her so much!
Hope you had a Happy Mothers Day too. :)
Hi Melanie. The “KISS” method means “Keep it Simple Stupid.” Not calling you a name; it’s just an acronym to remind us that simple is sometimes better than elaborate.
But because Mother’s Day happens every year and we think we’ve said it all, I ran into the same problem creating a speech for a Mother/Daughter banquet Friday and then for a shorter tribute to Moms I was asked to do Sunday morning at church.
But I found that the Bible has so many examples of women that I was able to look at their character/actions/words as a resource to compare to our role as mothers and women of God.
For the shorter tribute, God gave me an object lesson using an old transitor radio, a walkman, an MP3 player and a flashdrive. Guess which one the Mom is…?
Ardella, your description of your object lesson has piqued my curiosity! I’m leaning toward saying that moms are like flash drives because they store things in their hearts (like the Bible says Mary did). On the other hand, maybe they’re like MP3 players because they get into our heads!
You are so on the money– and with the same example of Mary. A flash drive can carry all the things you find on the other objects. None of the other objects boast the same. I think you peeked at my notes. Part of the notes say:
“Ask any mother, any day what a child was like as a baby… and she can pull it out of her memory bank…
The Bible says of Mary after the birth of Christ and the arrival of the shepherds, that she ‘treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.’
…Mothers keep their best memories in their hearts.”
There are a few more reasons that mothers are like flash drives, so let’s see if anyone else has another comparison. Thanks.
Melanie,
I enjoyed reading your post and the eloquence and simplicity of your message. Sometimes it’s not the number of words, but the gravity that counts. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Jennifer—I appreciate you stopping by to tell me that! Hope you had a nice Mothers Day too. :)