<p>Not to be the Debbie Downer of this thread, but. . .
A couple years ago, I was afraid it might be my mom’s last Mothers’ Day, so I flew home to surprise her (all my siblings live fairly close–I live far away and see her once a year). It was the first time I had flown alone and had to rent a car by myself, drive in from a nearby city, so it was a big deal for me.
When I finally got to my parents’ house, some of my sibs and their spouses were there, and they helped me sneak in the house unnoticed. Mom was standing at her pantry looking for something, so I crept up behind her and put my hands over her eyes. Then she said, angrily, “Why are you doing that to me?!?!” “Guess who?” I said. She turned around and said, “Oh, it’s YOU. What are YOU doing here?” And she went back to looking for her can of soup.
I was mildly disappointed by her reaction, but since her personality had changed after a stroke, I didn’t take it too hard. (My s-i-l, who witnessed this “surprise” started crying so hard, she went outside.) I made a mental note to save on the plane ticket/rental car and just make a phone call for any future Mothers’ Days.</p>
<p>atomom, I am really sorry that happened to you. I know my aunt had a stroke, and her personality definitely changed. In fact, I read articles about sundowners syndrome which pertains to parts of day, such as in the early evening or when a person who had a stroke wakes up, as being particularly irritable for them and when they sometimes can seem irrational. I hope you have a great mother’s day!</p>
<p>Rule at our house is that mom/dad get to plan the day’s activities for mother’s/father’s day. So we will clean the garage for father’s day, and for mother’s day we will do pretty much nothing at all, followed by a scrabble game that involves progressively more outrageous cheating and word-invention. We’ve never encouraged gifts since when our sons were little, what could they really buy? So we would do something together. </p>
<p>I will call my far-away mom, my husband will call his. Every other year DH drives the 3 hrs to spend the day with his mom; I tell him the nicest thing she could ever want is him, all to herself. I surprised my mom one year – showed up for church and sat down next to her — she cried for about 10 minutes and just about when she stopped my brothers came in and we set her off again. But when I call her, she’ll say “Okay. Is that all you wanted?” and then hang up. After all the grief I gave her as a teen, I try not to take it to heart.</p>
<p>Flowers, flowers, flowers, and Tiffany dot com.</p>
<p>Another graduation day here! And we will go to lunch after graduation to celebrate all the good things!</p>
<p>My dad just let me know that they already had a party to go to, something they couldn’t cancel. I guess D1 is going to have to take me out after all.</p>
<p>atomom–a phone call sounds like a good plan.</p>
<p>i thought I’d be leaving for London that day, but actually I’ll be packing. Guess I’ll have to figure out some fun easy thing to do at home.</p>
<p>We are not ones to stand on ceremony around here; I sometimes feel I should relinquish my “Mom Card.” I really don’t like to be waited on, and it’s really not a change of pace for my D to be appreciative of me as a mother or as a person. I guess I’m lucky! </p>
<p>Our special activity is going to be watching movies together. My choice. I’ve got a somewhat random program planned; Fellini is involved. </p>
<p>A bit of background: I have been a widow for 15 years, so I lack a DH to project manage a suitable tribute to my motherly virtues. I haven’t decided yet if I want my BF to be part of movie day. Probably not, as this will be the last Mother’s Day before my D heads off to college. I think it’s right that it should be just mother and daughter together celebrating the end of an era.</p>
<p>Greenbutton, earlier today, my sister drove up from about from her house (about 1.5 hrs away) with her daughter to surprise my mom at Church tonight. One of my son’s picked up my other sister’s daughter to meet them there as well. My really gets delight when the grandchildren go to Church with her. I guess it is the little things that mean so much.</p>
<p>I think my H and Mathmom’s H are brothers. ;)</p>
<p>I also want to sleep in. This may mean H sleeping in the guestroom with our newest little dog who wakes me up every day at 6:00. I will thoroughly enjoy having the bed all to myself. Haven’t yet told this to H.</p>
<p>and now for a happy Mothers’ Day memory. . .</p>
<p>25-30 years ago, I put a sign in my parents’ yard that said “The World’s Greatest Mom Lives Here!” (It was raining that Mothers’ Day, so I had to cover the sign with plastic. . .)That sign is still on the wall in my parents’ garage.
(I’m not close to my mom, but she really was a great/admirable woman in many ways. She had many difficult challenges in her life, and she was strong through them all.)</p>