Mother’s Day, What Will Your Child Give? A Tale and an Idea.

Before I go any further, I just want to point out that Aunts, Cousins, Grandmothers, and anyone else who loves a child, can get a Mother's Day Gift; if you love anyone you are a mother or surrogate mother.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, (no I won’t say how long), I was a mother of three small children. I nurtured them, loved them, and guided them through the hard and easy moments in life. Then, one day, I thought I would like to have something to remember them while they were still young (and cute and listened to mommy when she spoke). I racked my brain trying to think of what I could do to protect those memories. I mean, yes there are pictures, and there are recordings, but I wanted something different, something the kids could do themselves. I thought of key chains, clay decorations, scrapbooks, and school papers. I thought of a book listing all of their achievements. I thought of a book filled with their thoughts, wait, that’s it! I would have them write me a book! Oh, this was going to be the greatest book ever. Well, for me, anyway.

I gathered the children around the kitchen table and I handed them several pages. I put glue, construction paper, glitter, stickers, foam designs, beads, and different types of confetti in the center of the table. Then I told them to create pages of whatever they wanted for me for Mother’s Day. At first, they had questions:

• “What did I want?”
• “Did I want pictures or a story?”
• “Did I want them to draw something?”
• “Did I want them to make a cover for something?”

I decided to sit down with them and try to explain. This was my attempt:

“You see,” I began, “Mother’s Day is just a few days away and I thought you could use those wonderful imaginations you all have and create things for me on paper. You can draw, write, decorate, color, bead, whatever and wherever you want, on the paper, not my table. When you are done, I will put the pages in a book that I can look in and remember you when you were this age.”

I got smiles at that point and soon they were all busy with their projects. I wondered what I would get, but I looked forward to the surprise. About an hour later, I went in to check on them. The table was a disaster, as was the floor, the kids, and their clothes. Sitting in front of them were pages bent and twisted with glitter, beads, circles, squares, colored smudges, you name it, they had it. They smiled up at me and said: “Look what we did, Mom!” They each held up a page that they had covered from top to bottom and side to side with a little of everything from the supplies I had left for them to use.

The oldest had written “Happy Mother’s Day” on the top of each one and each of the kids had written their name on the bottom. I couldn’t help it as tears of joy raced down my cheeks. These wonderful kids had made my Mother’s Day. It was like receiving First Prize in a contest for mothers. As for the mess, the kids had as much fun helping me to clean it up as they did to create it. The three pictures hung on my wall for years before I finally tenderly put them in a scrapbook.

When I saw the pictures, I couldn't help but remember the beauty of my little angels (who could be devils at the drop of a dime). Each year I gave them the opportunity to make me something and I even went into Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each page found a place on my wall for a bit and then was placed in my book of memories. Of course, there was a mess, but the final product was well worth it. And making a game of cleaning up was also worth it. And now I ask, "What will your child make for you this year?" Give them the opportunity to use their imaginations coupled with their love. You might be surprised at what you get.

Remember you don't have to be creative to do this project because anything goes. Creativity doesn't just mean giving them paper and glue, it also means encouraging them to use their imagination. If drawing isn't your strong point, then find something that you are good at. A ready-made calendar that they put stickers on would work and remind you all year long. A foam sheet with foam stickers will work beautifully. You could give them a craft you looked up on the internet or ask their teacher for advice. There are so many ways you can get their imagination running on full while getting something you will treasure for the rest of your life. I also learned a few things during these times, like how to make a flower from facial tissue. We made a bunch of bouquets and sprayed just a little bit of perfume on them, then the kids gave them to their teachers.

Your children will be small for such a short time. Make memories with them while they are small so you can remember them as children when you see them as adults. And a little thing I discovered, later on, was to take a picture of the item and put that in the book of memories too. This works well because the items will fall apart, but the picture can sit in your book for years to come. If you use your phone or tablet be sure to keep them on it. Storms destroy paper.