Mother's Day

I always know it's just about Mother's Day when I see the lilacs start to bloom. You can smell their wonderful scent in the air. See their beautiful purple and lavender colors that make it Spring everywhere.

Since the time I was a little girl there was always a lilac tree. I'd cut some branches with my Dad and gather a handful to give to my Mommy for Mother's Day, because they were her favorite. To this day and forever Lilacs will remind me of my Mom and how this day was always a special day. At home when I was little and then in my home when I married and had my own children and Grandma would come to cuddle them and they would cut the lilacs from my tree and get the wonderful hugs and kisses that came with them.

I miss you Mom and not just on Mother's Day. We all miss you and know you will be so proud of our little Kaitlyn Paige that your loving granddaughter Elyse Mindi will be giving birth to in just about two weeks.

You probably made your Mom her first gift way before you bought her jewelry, flowers or mugs! I bet Kindergarten teachers must attend special schools for arts and crafts because they know the best way to please Mom!

Do you remember your handprint and fingerpainting hanging on the refrigerator? Children bring home wonderful exciting presents to Mom every year worth more than money can buy! Flower seeds in milk carton containers, bookmarks with crayon drawings and Mother's Day cards with colorful, creative pictures of Mom, flowers and the Sun show how much Mommy is loved.

The most powerful of all loves, the most delicate of all feelings, nurturing that begins before you are even born. The love of a mother and her child. It is not the only day we should stop and remember that no matter how families may sometimes disagree or may change some family traditions one thing will always be the same.

A Mother's love and pride is like no other gift in the world.

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece, honoring Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. The Romans called their version of the event the Hilaria, and celebrated on the Ides of March by making offerings in the temple of Cybele, the mother of the Gods.

Mother's Day festivities in the United States date back to 1872 when Julia Ward Howe (her other claim to fame was writing the lyrics for the "Battle Hymn of the Republic") suggested the day be dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Massachusetts ever year.

In 1907, Ana Jarvis, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania school teacher, furthered the cause by beginning a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, which happened to be on the 2nd Sunday of May that year. By the following year, Mother's Day was also being celebrated in Philadelphia.

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