To all the moms, soon-to-be moms, and grandmothers out there, I extend a very happy Mother’s Day to all of you!
I’ve written about this before, but Mother’s Day is always extra-special for me. Our older daughter, Hannah, was born the day after Mother’s Day in 1997. This year she turns 21! (Did I just write 21?!)
It’s such a cliché, but it really does seem like just yesterday that she was singing along to Barney songs and creating masterpieces with playdough. Many milestones have happened and memories have been made over the past 20 years. Special birthdays and holidays with family, getting braces on, getting braces off, first dates, proms, graduations, getting her driver’s license, asking us for a fake ID (TO WHICH WE DID NOT AGREE,) registering to vote, special vacations, getting into college, joining a sorority, and so much more. Now, turning 21.
Hannah comes home from college on tomorrow and her birthday is Saturday. For the past month, she has been texting and telling me that all she wants to do to mark her birthday is to spend time with her family: maybe we could go out for a dinner and a drink together, and have “family weekend.”
In theory, this seemed like a simple request, but I wasn’t sure it was “enough.” Don’t get me wrong, I love nothing more than spending time with my family, but I felt like she was holding back, and really wanted or expected more. After all, 21 is a BIG birthday.
So … I had the drink and dinner planned out. But I also had the champagne chilling for a toast at midnight when her birthday official begins. And brunch with friends planned. And a bike riding/rollerblading afternoon planned. Then, I received an email from Rise Against Hunger asking for volunteers to package food for people in developing nations – so I signed us up to volunteer for two hours together on her birthday.
It turns out, after all that planning, the thing she is most looking forward to is volunteering together! And that, as it turns out, is probably all I needed to plan.
Simple: togetherness, laughter, (we are required to wear hairnets!) and memories.
So, this Mother’s Day, keep it simple.
Laugh. Create memories. Because, it really is true –kids grow up so fast!
Happy Mother’s Day.
Paula Feakes
Paula Feakes is the Client Services Director of The Parents Estate Planning Law Firm, PC – a law firm for families in the Acton, Massachusetts area. Paula helps parents protect the people they love the most. To learn more, call her at 978-263-6900, or email [email protected].
