#1 Mother’s Day Takeaway: I Have So Much Fun Being Your Mom

I’ve been a real grouch lately. You’re feeling it, too? The pandemic has done a number on my pep, and I am spouting the grumps at my kiddos. I’m certainly not thinking about my #1 mother’s day takeaway.

On Mother’s Day, our children will be just dying to tell us how much they love being around us. Ha. 

Thankfully, I don’t feel like I must pressure my kids to make me feel special this Sunday.  Mother’s Day isn’t about creating the perfect day for the moms; it’s about our kids knowing we hit the Life Lotto when they were born. It is for riding roller coasters, ordering junk food–leaving boring sit-down lunches behind. My kids look forward to Mother’s Day like they would other kids’ holidays.

My mantra on Mother’s Day is, “I have so much fun being your mom.”

When they grow up, I want them to have memories of us enjoying our time together–especially on Mother’s Day.

Yet, the pandemic has put a damper on Mother’s Day, hasn’t it? This Mother’s Day I can’t spoil my kids like I usually would. Ideally, on Mother’s Day, we would ride roller coasters till we walked sideways.

And here’s the other hiccup, besides residual closures of entertainment: We’ve been together A LOT. We’ve spotted summer break getting closer and closer, an epilogue to a doomsday story of togetherness that just. Won’t. End.

To make this Mother’s Day memorable, I’ll need to dig deep.

Make Homemade Sweets

If you’re like our family, you save grand baking and cooking for holidays. This time, I want to experiment with recipes for rock candy, fondant icing, caramel apples, and elephant ears pastries. Think Willy Wonka crossed with Ree Drummond and a gaggle of kiddos. I won’t sweat the mess; I’ll photo document our creativity and add the photos to our family recipe book.

Wear Family Uniforms

I want to develop our Mother’s Day tradition by dressing us all in matching t-shirts–the more obnoxious, the better. We’ve got some tie-dye tees we could sport when we hit the beach or ride our bikes. Another shirt choice is white t-shirts hand-decorated by the kids. I could let the kids decorate mine without restrictions. Dressed the same, our pictures will turn out crazy-fun.

Take a Mystery Trip

With stores and restaurants gradually reopening, old favorites will feel even more special when we visit. For Mother’s Day, I could blindfold them while we drive to one of our family places. Simple favorites will make their eyes bug out.

Dare them to guess your destination while you are driving and offer a prize for the best guess. Tease out their guesses, “Do you smell anything outside the car that gives it away? Do you hear anything?” Take a picture of yourselves at your destination.

Photo Safari

From where we live in the Largo/Seminole area, we can ride our bikes to Walsingham Park, the beach, and the Florida Botanical Gardens. While at this posting Hillsborough beaches are still closed due to Covid-19 precautions, Pinellas County beaches are opening. The kids and I can make a list of specific photos to take during our adventures, much like a scavenger hunt. We can look for gators in the pond, turtles on the path, at least five different types of gulls, and an eagle. The “Turtle Park” in Largo is a quick trip that is home to eagles, frogs, and owls.

Mother’s Day is about an attitude of childlike fun, that’s my #1 mother’s day takeaway. That kind of day never disappoints.