Unlikely though it may seem I can think of less accurate barometers of my social development than the celebration of Mother’s day.
It makes me giggle to think that during my infant years, when my mother’s mothering was it its most intense, I was at my most oblivious!
But a few years on, as a small girl testing my independence, I hope I made up for it with handmade offerings and wobbly dishes of sugary treats.
The night before, my father might come home with a bunch of flowers elaborately masked beneath his coat, which he then smuggled into a vase. It was my cue to set to work in my bedroom, enclosed by card, ribbon and glue, waiting for inspiration to strike and my creation to take shape.
In my early teens I was grown-up enough to make a bigger offering- perhaps even managing a delicious breakfast here and there.
One year, fruit plate and smoothie proudly arranged on a decorated tray, I bumped into an object walking up the stairs, which, I soon discovered, was my Mum. Although delighted with the goodies I explained to be heading in her direction she said she had to rush to an appointment, leaving me baffled on the stairs with my surprise.
Later that day the strange little incident became clear as my brothers and I finally presented our cards and our mother exclaimed: ‘Oh, is it mother’s day?!’
Reaching into my late teens towards the new ideas of Art College, dare I unfortunately admit to a forgetting Mother’s Day, or being too wrapped up in my work, and the events happening in my life to spare some thought for my Mother on her special day of the year.
Hitting my twenties and living away from home I came to fully appreciate my mother once again- the food parcels, the home-cooked meals and, yes, the sparodic bag of washing.
Always a card, I sometimes managed to persuade my bothers to make a time in their busy lives to treat her to a bite to eat or a trip to the theatre. And we were never in any doubt afterwards that it was 100% worth it.
So it has continued until I was able to begin enjoying Mother’s days in my own right and I came to understand just how important they are.
There’s nothing quite like the clumsy wrapping of a small gift or the hushing in the hallway of young voices when they are trying to keep a secret from you.
In fact, when my children were small I used to enjoy the squabbles over who would be in charge of giving what as much as the tokens themselves. And their sweet sentiments in thoughtful cards continue to delight me today.
I set up my collection of E cards as a way to marry my love of fine art with a business interest I could fit easilyaround my family life. But a nice by-product has been that when I need a greetings card I have never had to rush to the shop or resort to choosing an Ecard online that wasn’t quite right.
More than that, my family has become my greatest testing ground. And they don’t come much more helpful than my mother!
Of course, she fondly remembers the childhood days of glitter and glue but equally she has enjoyed the shifting traditions in our family that explore our grown-up talents.
And she loves the opportunity to be reminded she is a modern grandmother using email, one that occasionally contains a personal and meaningful E-card in amongst the spam.
At www.katiescards.com I have created a collection of mother’s day E-card that are quick to preview and just as easy to send. It’s as simple as choosing your favourite E card, personalizing it and emailing it to your loved one, with a low-cost membership to the site that allows you to send E-card on other occasions also- from birthday Ecard to Christmas E-card and every special day in-between.
The attention to detail and time taken to create a special mother’s day E-card surely makes them an ideal way to show you care.
Mother’s day gives us all a chance to display our appreciation for the woman who brought us into the world and to let her know we do not take her for granted.
I hope that from my choice of 8 Mothers Day E cards there will be one that is just right for you to send to your Mom.
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