What Should I Get Mom For Mother's Day?

I remember when I was a little boy in school; we would make our mom’s a silly little art project for Mother’s day. You know, a baby food jar with construction paper on it and a tissue paper flower.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure mom loved that little home made gift. And most mothers probably still have those little papered jars stored away in a box somewhere so they can pull them out and remember when we were young. Although, as we get older we realize that our gift was not really practical. We start to think maybe I should get mom something better. Something she can use regularly, but more importantly, something she really needs.

If you are like me, your mother is probably at the age where she can order off the senior’s menu. With the special discounts on food also come other more undesirable aspects related to age. The weather no longer seems as warm as it used to. Her feet get colder easier; the extra thick comforters come out of the closet while it is still summertime, and all sleepwear is either flannel or fleece.

As we get older our roles start to reverse with our parents. They spent our entire childhood worried that maybe we weren’t dressed warm enough for the weather, and did we take that sweater to school in case the wind picked up. At bedtime my mom would stick her head in the door 5 minutes after I was in bed to check I was warm enough all snuggled up in my Flintstones pj’s or did I need a big knitted pair of socks on too.

My mother’s penchant for saving on heating hasn’t lessened over the years. She would rather wear 3 sweaters than turn the heat up, always runs the hot water for 5 minutes to heat up the bathroom before a bath, and eighteen blankets on the bed at night. But times have changed. Fleece can now withstand weather only seen in the arctic. Slippers are not only warm and fuzzy but they now come with non-slip soles – another concern we get as our parents age.

My mother has slippers that remind her of her old dog Farley, slippers to wear when company is over, slippers to wear outside to put the garbage in the garage, slippers for every occasion it seems. She doesn’t worry about slipping in them, and I don’t worry about what might happen if she were to slip. She has a warm fleece bathrobe so she no longer has to wash, dry and dress in the bathroom to conserve heat. I notice the bed isn’t piled high with blankets anymore, mom is finally warm without the bulk of three sweaters and knitted stockings.

With Mother’s Day fast approaching I think I am going to replace baby food jar vases with slippers, tissue paper flowers with fleece bathrobes, and eighteen blankets on the bed with warm flannel pajamas. In doing this I also give myself something that can’t be bought – less worry about my aging mom, and some piece of mind knowing she is warm at night all snuggly in her fleece and flannel.


About The Author
Mark McAuley is a 40 year old father, who works full time and runs a website. In his spare time he likes to write about things that happen in everyday life. Visit his website at: http://purplemoose.us http://pajamas.purplemoose.us/women.html

Funny Quote of the Day

God created the donkey and said to him.
"You will be a donkey. You will work un-tiringly from sunrise to sunsetcarrying burdens on your back.
You will eat grass, you will have no intelligence and you will live 50 years."

The donkey answered:
"I will be a donkey, but to live 50 years is much. Give me only 20 years" God grantedhis wish.
............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ..
God created the dog and said to him:
"You will guard the house of man. You will be his best Friend.
You will eat the scraps that he gives you and you will live 30 years. You will be a dog. "

The dog answered:
"Sir, to live 30 years is too much, give me only 15 years. " God granted his wish.

............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ............
God created the monkey and said to him:
"You will be a monkey. You will swing from branch to branch doing tricks.
You will be amusing and you will live 20 years. "

The monkey answered:
"To live 20 years is too much, give me only 10 years." God granted his wish.
............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ..
Finally God created man ... and said to him:
"You will be man, the only rational creature on the face of the earth.
You will use your intelligence to become master over all the animals.
You will dominate the world and you will live 20 years."

Man responded:
"Sir, I will be a man but to live only 20 years is very little, give me the 30 years that the donkey refused,the 15 years that the dog did
not want and the 10 years the monkey refused. " God granted man's wish...
............ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ..
And since then, man lives 20 years as a man ,marries and spends 30 years like a donkey, working and carrying all the burdens on his back.

Then when his children are grown, he lives 15 years like a dog taking care of the houseand eating whatever is given to him,
so that when he is old, he can retire and live 10 years like a monkey, going from house to house
and from one son or daughter to another doing tricks to amuse his grandchildren.

Jascha Saint as Endorser

We used to have a mobile kiosk selling "street foods" and this banner I designed was printed on tarpaulin as marketing collateral.

A FATHER IS...

A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic.

He growls when he feels good and laughs very loud when he is scared half-to-death.

A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He is never quite the hero his daughter thinks . . . Never quite the man his son believes him to be...

And this worries him sometimes. (So he works too hard to try to smooth the rough places in the road of those of his own who will follow him.)

A father is a person who goes to war sometimes . . .

and would run the other way except that war is part of his only important job in his life, (which is making the world better for his child than it has been for him.)

Fathers grow older faster than people, because they, in other wars, have to stand at the train station and wave goodbye to the uniform that climbs onboard. And, while mothers cry where it shows, fathers stand and beam . . .outside . . . and die inside.

Fathers are men who give daughters away to other men, who aren't nearly good enough, so that they can have children that are smarter than anybody's. Fathers fight dragons almost daily. They hurry away from the breakfast table, off to the arena which is sometimes called an office or a workshop. There, with callused hands, they tackle the dragon with three heads; Weariness, Works, and Monotony. And they never quite win the fight, but they never give up.

Knights in shining armor; fathers in shiny trousers: There's little difference as they march away each workday. I don't know where father goes when he dies, but I've an idea that, after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore. He'll be busy there too . . .repairing the stars, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.

~ Author Unknown ~

A BOY IS...

Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood we find a delightful creature called a boy. Boys come in assorted sizes, weights and colors, but all boys are the same. Boys are found everywhere ... on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to.

Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older brothers and sisters tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them.

A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.

When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly, or else he becomes a savage, sadistic jungle creature bent on destroying the world.

A boy is a composite ... he has the appetite of a horse, the digestion of a sword swallower, the energy of an atom bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the lungs of a dictator, the shyness of a violet and when he makes something, he has five thumbs on each hand.

A boy is a magical creature ... you can lock him out of your workshop, but you can't lock him out of your heart. Might as well give up ... he is your captor, your jailer, your boss and your master ... a freckled face, pint size, cat chasing bundle of noise.


~ Author Unknown ~

BABY EXPERTS say:

According to baby experts when the baby cries he or she tries to convey the message that he is either feeling cold and wet after urinating or stuff, or maybe hungry and worst got ill or not feeling well. Although my baby JASCHA SAINT has those things, his crying has something to convey and tried to convince us even before he is inside his mom's womb...He would surely try to greet me and this is what he has to say:

DAD, when you come home at night with only shattered pieces of your dreams, your little
one can mend them like new with two magic words -- 'Hi Dad!'

CRYING JASCHA

I had heard all those things about fatherhood, how great it is. But it's greater that I'd ever expected -- I had no idea JASCHA SAINT would steal my heart the way he has. From the minute I laid eyes on him, I knew nobody could ever wrestle him away from me...