A Birthday Celebration for my Mother

My mother could win an award for the wonderful birthday celebrations she has created for members of our family throughout the years. The rich, warm memories she has generated with her home-cooked meals, special desserts, handwritten sentiments and beautiful gifts are abundant and priceless.

 

However, the greatest gift we received from her wasn't the planning, the preparation or the parties. It was a wonderful lesson in life and love. My mother gives the world the very things that she needs. Case in point, she became the kind of grandmother she always longed for, adding depth and value to the lives of her grandchildren.

 

Her selfless work that makes our birthday celebrations so special teaches me that those celebrations are important to her. In her estimation, they have great value.

 

Through the years, I've attempted to make her birthday special as well. I baked a cake for her one year. I didn't burn it, but pulling it out of the oven a couple of minutes earlier than I did wouldn't have hurt. She ate it and told me it was good. :0)

 

At other times, I've taken her out for a relaxed lunch followed by a trip to the Fine Arts Center. Those outings gave us time for pleasant, unhurried conversation. Her side of the family is blessed with a gentle, casual way of walking through this world ... a pace that she and I both inherited. It fits us nicely, making our time together very enjoyable.

 

This year for her birthday, we did something that was a lot of fun. While she was away for a few hours, we decorated her kitchen with beautiful tissue paper poms in colors of cream, chocolate, gold, green, lime, purple, lavender and peach.

 

Those poms were festive and fun. You couldn't help but smile every time you looked at them. And one month later, they are still creating a party in her kitchen. I'm sure we'll take them down at some point ... I just haven't been told when.

 

We ordered three homemade desserts ... deep dish caramel pie ... deep dish chocolate refrigerator pie ... and a pineapple layer cake with butter cream frosting. Yum!

 

The gift pictured here is from me. It was fun to wrap. I used two different rolls of wedding gift wrap to cover the two ends of the package. A wide piece of beautiful fabric was layered over the wrapping paper. Then two ribbons were added ... one, narrow, tone on tone, soft and elegant ... the other, wide, wired, stitched, sequined, textured and structured.

 

The wired ribbon was raised near the center of the gift to create a bowl, providing the perfect resting place for a beautiful, rust, silk flower. Hand-stamped, monogrammed gift tags bearing her initials added a special, personal touch. A handwritten blessing on a small card was tucked gently beneath the heavier ribbon.

 

And the contents? A small piece for her Christmas Village that has been retired and is difficult to find. Fortunately, my brother is an ebay whiz, so once I found the item online, he made sure I got it at a reasonable price. Cool!

 

From start to finish, this was a fun celebration.

 

Notice the good things that people do for you on a daily basis ... and remember ... they are putting their time, money and energy into things that they value ... and they are sharing them with you. You'll form great impressions ... strong relationships ... and a lifetime of wonderful memories if you will demonstrate respect for their valuing process ... by giving to them as they have given to you.

 

Celebrate someone you love today. You'll be glad you did.

 

Happy Birthday, Mother ... I love you!

 

~s

Done