I was listening to my favorite Christian radio station this morning. The morning DJs are young adults because the station wants teenagers to listen, so they give them people to whom they can relate. Actually, the music and contests are geared more towards teenagers as well, but I like the music. So, the DJs were talking about Mother’s Day and wondering what some of their listeners were planning to do for their moms. A teenage girl called in and said that her mom didn’t want anything for Mother’s Day. The DJs made a couple of suggestions, which did include housework. The teenager made it quite clear that her mother had told her and her siblings they didn’t need to do anything.

Well, I couldn’t stand it. I had to call and I wasn’t the only mother that called, either. I told the DJs that I would love it if my children would just clean their own bedrooms without being threatened with consequences. I would also appreciate it if they ran the vacuum, washed the dishes, or folded laundry without expecting compensation. I told them that I would appreciate those things much more than a trinket or bauble. They could give mom a day without lying, stealing, sneaking, or fighting. That would be a wonderful Mother’s Day gift. Another mom called in and said she would appreciate a “Yes, Mom day.”

I think that most mothers prefer to have special things done for them, then gifts. My eight year old son, who is adopted from foster care, but doesn’t have any special needs, likes to bring me coffee in bed on the mornings of special occasions. Nice things like that may be the norm for mothers who are not parenting special needs children. Only three of my 10 children do not have any special needs. Those three are not my birth children either. My three birth sons all have ADHD and one has dyslexia.

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Photo Credit: 2007 Julia Fuller.