Mother's Day

My blog is usually written about health issues and various topics pertaining to health and wellness. As Mother's Day draws near, I thought about how this one special day can help with our overall wellness and health.

As a mom, Mother's Day has always meant time with my family. When my daughters were young, it meant homemade gifts from their innocent little hearts and warm loving messages that filled my mommy book. I still treasure those days and those lasting memories.

When my daughters were little, every Mother's Day was spent at zoo. It was something that I enjoyed as much as my children. Even as they grew, we continued with that simple family tradition that none of us wanted to give up. The day was filled with skips, hops, shoulder rides, and hand holding. Maybe the zoo outing would be followed by a picnic lunch or lunch out. As a mother, seeing the joy, laughter, awe and overall love in their eyes was the perfect gift.

Now my daughters are grown, beautiful women. One of my daughters has children of her own. So what should we do to make Mother's Day special for her as a mom. Usually, it's just time spent together doing whatever the day may bring. Last year, we went on a hike and out to lunch. This year, a trip to the Children's Museum and lunch out. As much as I loved the consistency of our zoo trips, I look forward to the surprise of the new tradition ~ it's up for grabs.

No matter what we do, the fact that we are able to do it as a complete family is what makes it so special. As a mom, I don't need gifts or cards to make Mother's Day meaningful. I just need my family!

This year, I did receive a special gift though. In light of the demise of Bin Laden, my daughters and I were discussing the fact that people were celebrating his death. We each expressed the fact that as much as BL was an evil person, celebrating his death was not something we felt comfortable with and especially seeing people doing the celebrating was really somewhat embarrassing. Yes, he was the mastermind behind 911. Yes, I did lose friends in NYC. Yes, I was angry. But to celebrate a death still seemed over the top for me and surprisingly for my daughters as well. As we continued to discuss this, my oldest daughter said the sweetest words my ears could hear. She said, "Mom, you taught us to love people, no matter what. Although BL was an evil person, he was a person who had a family who loved him. You taught us well!" Now what mother wouldn't love to hear those precious words from her child?!

So here's to all moms out there ~ have a loving, happy, fun and laugh filled Mother's Day with your children and families. And know that you are spreading good in the world AND they do learn what you teach them!
Isn't that the best thing for all of our hearts? Health to you!