Here is an interesting fact: Mother’s Day in the UK and Ireland is celebrated on a different day than Mother’s Day in North America. What this means for me is that I need to be on the ball twice! Being British-Irish and living in Canada means that my wife gets to celebrate Mother’s Day twice. Interestingly, Father’s Day is on the same date on both sides of the Atlantic, which I am campaigning to change!
In our family, we make a big noise on Mother’s Day. Both of my kids love that we get to take these days to make their mom feel special and to thank her for being awesome, even when we are not. Because we get to celebrate twice, we really have no excuses for not doing an excellent job at least once.
So every spring, I sit down with my kids, and we make a plan. We have a simple little template that we created, which we use to help us make my wife feel really special. I would like to share it with you because I know not all of my brothers are wired to think about the same things.
Here is our three-step process. These are things we try to do each Mother’s Day:
- Acknowledge the gift of Mother.
- Acknowledge the giftedness of Mother.
- Acknowledge Mother with a gift. But ensure the gift acknowledges Mother.
“Mother” is way too serious, so feel free to change the name to Mom, Momma, Momma Bear, or if you are from Belfast like me, you can call them Mommy. Each time Mother’s Day rolls around, the kids and I sit down and strategize a plan to turn these two special days into the most remarkable celebrations of the woman who made me a dad.
Thank God For Mom
Firstly, we want to acknowledge the gift of Mom. Thankfully, Mother’s Day happens on a Sunday, so connecting this story from Hallmark to the Hallways of Heaven is not such a giant leap. For us, we take time on Mother’s Day to pray as a family and to give thanks to God for Mom. This both blesses Mom and teaches my kids that their mother is indeed a gift from above. Mom’s pray for our kids every day, so bless them by taking time to pray for them and give thanks for them.
Celebrate Mom With Words
Secondly, we acknowledge the giftedness of the amazing woman who pours so much of her life into our family. We do this with words of affirmation. When we sit down for our lunch on Mother’s Day, we each take turns to celebrate with words the fantastic gifts that we see in Momma and the ways that those gifts bless us. Obviously, when the kids were little, I would help them write a few things down or find a creative way to communicate their specific gratitude. The reality is that moms often feel invisible and that their work goes unnoticed and unappreciated, so this little exercise goes a long way to show her that although we don’t always say, we always see. We always experience her love and care for us.
Give Mom A Gift – For Her
Thirdly, and I know this one might seem the easiest to remember, but we always acknowledge Momma Bear with a gift. But remember, the gift must acknowledge the mother. In other words, the gift has to be worthy of the woman—no running to the gas station last minute or frantically writing special vouchers of promised chores. We make a big deal because being a mom is a big deal. So we pay attention to what is going on in her life. Does she need some new clothes or make-up? Has she expressed a desire for new tech or a trip to the spa? We have learned that quietly listening to mom’s heart helps us get her great gifts worthy of the woman. We save up, and the kids always contribute, even if it is just a little.
When Mother’s Day is over at our house, we have the goal of Mommy putting her head on her pillow and thanking God.
When Mother’s Day is over at our house, we have the goal of Mommy putting her head on her pillow and thanking God. We hope that she thanks God that she gets to be a mom. We hope that this amazing woman can thank God for the gifts he has given her to equip her to be a mom in our family. Finally, we hope that she knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that her kids think she is the best mom in the whole wide world.
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