Mother's Day Dilemma

Submitted by Writing Life on Tue, 2006-05-02 09:17. Women’s Interests

I love my mother, but for the last 15 years I've had a dilemma - when to celebrate Mother's Day. In the UK, Mother's Day is the last Sunday in March; in the rest of the world (or at least in Barbados and the US, where my mother spends much of her time), it's the first Sunday in May. So what to do?

I really want to celebrate my mother. Although I do this every day anyway, it's nice to have a special day as well. My mother is a strong woman, who saw my sister and me through the vagaries of a life with an alcoholic dad (if you want a laugh, read about my first driving lesson). She was - and still is - our rock and anchor. Those terms are often used in a cliched way, but they are true in this case. I have a great deal of respect for her for managing to keep it all together through those troubled years.

And that's not all. My mum is a creative genius. When I was growing up she made all our clothes as well as various bags and leather sandals. Later, she turned her hand to curtains and cushion covers, as well as innovative ways of shelving with painted bricks/blocks and boards. We always thought that she was wasted as an administrative assistant and it later turned out that her heart was really in making things.

So when she offered to prepare the flowers for my sister's wedding nine years ago, we knew they would be something special. They decided on silk flowers so they would last, and my sister's wedding featured a selection of painted fans with deep blue and rose pink flowers. The decorations were fabulous and that was the start of a business in decorating with silk flowers. Since then, she's been unstoppable.

She has also created floral decorations for shows and decorations for office lobbies. These decorations are truly beautiful and when I got married five years ago, she did silk flower arrangements as her gift to us. They were beautiful, in yellow, cream and green - and I still have my bouquet now.

My mother's decorations have been all around the world - the UK, US, the Caribbean and even Japan. Who says 65 is too late for a career change?

So you see, my mother is worth a celebration. For years, I've intended to buy a card on Mother's Day in the UK so I can send it to her for Mother's Day in the US, but I always forget. What I do instead is call her on Mother's Day here and on Mother's Day there (any excuse for a chat).

This year, my mother is staying with me for the second Mother's Day. I'll have to think of something special to treat her. After all, she deserves it.

This is my entry for today's Writing Challenge.

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