Dear Kids,
This is all I want for Mother’s Day (and beyond):
- That you realize half-eaten tuna sandwiches don’t belong in the far corner of your closet buried under three tons of toys.
- You learn to fight less and love more.
- Hands are not for hurting but for helping — also for helping Mom by picking up all your stuff off the floor. Here’s a tip: open your hand, pick something up, put it away.
- R – E – S – P – E – C – T Find out what it means to me. And to anyone else you’ll meet for the rest of your life. I’ll give you a big hint: it’s probably the single most important thing, other than love, you can feel for another human being. It will carry you throughout life and help you learn from others, shaping you into a positive force that can move mountains. If you give it, others will return it to you.
- Silence. Just ten minutes will do.
OK, five is fine too.
One minute? - A hug. A real one. Not the kind where you wiggle away in horror like I’m trying to pull the teeth out of your head.
- That you help one another. Always.
- If you ever see someone down, try to help them. If someone needs a hand, help them. If someone is struggling, help them.
- Did I mention you should always help one another? Yeah, do that. Always.
- That you realize what you put out there in the universe, positive or negative, will come back to you times ten. It’s the hardest lesson of all, but one worth remembering.
- That you know love is all you need.
And chocolate.
I need some right now.
Did you buy me any?
By the way, you both have already given me the above gifts. All I ask is that you keep it up. I’m proud to be your mom.
She's A Maineiac 
Awww, so sweet.
But seriously about the chocolate. Don’t forget the chocolate. And the hugs.
I never told you I actually got to eat almost all of that glorious chocolate you sent me. I savored every bit of it. I was having a craptastic day that day too, so you saved me, Misty. thank you
Aww…all super reasonable! Your kids seem to be pretty great. 🙂 I do hope they got you chocolate though. 😉 Happy Early Mother’s Day!
Every year Jim asks me what I want and I say “oh, nothing” at first. Then I always say, “chocolate and silence”.
Aw I love this post! So sweet and true and funny. Five is is fine too. One minute?
I’d take even 30 seconds at this point.
This is a beautiful post! I love that you want them to learn “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” and this “That you realize what you put out there in the universe, positive or negative, will come back to you times ten. It’s the hardest lesson of all, but one worth remembering.” Actually, I love the whole thing. Thank you for this.
Thanks, Lisa. My dad was like a mom to me so I always think of his advice and having respect for every human being was his top lesson for me growing up.
Very wise words! Happy Mama’s Day!
I love this post ❤
Happy Mothers Day, Moms! Here’s a song that hits home this time of year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEcjCsrAL3E
…I think I have something in my eye….sniff….
Aw–and amen!
And can I have a hallelujah? Happy Mother’s Day to one of the best moms in the world. Give your Little Man a hug for me.
Respect! I bet it’s gonna be a great day 😉
R E S P E C T….my wanting chocolate and quiet. OK, and some hugs too. Fine. Whatever.
Fantastic! I love your twist on Mother’s Day!
I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Mother’s Day, Susie.
Thanks, you too!
Aww, it always reassures me to hear that other parents are trying to teach their kids some of the same, hopefully good things, that we are.
Especially not leaving food in your closet. My husband found a half eaten turkey sub from Subway underneath a pile of toys yesterday. We hadn’t been to subway in weeks. Either my kids have to put stuff away or I have to become a better housekeeper.
Yikes. Closets shouldn’t count as your responsibility. Maybe you just have a little Homer Simpson on your hands and he was saving it for later….Mmmmmmm forbidennn sannnnndwichhhh. Lol.
haha! It’s more of my daughter eating it then deciding suddenly she doesn’t want it anymore so why not chuck it onto the floor? D’oh!
Well, you already know how I feel about hugs. I should add that the gift of chocolate and silence are perfection, too! Happy Mother’s Day to a clearly beautiful, loving mom!
To you as well, Anka! Really, it can’t get better than hugs and eating chocolate in silence.
a perfect post
Great stuff 🙂
Can you add a second like button here so I can like this twice?
thanks, twindaddy!
Darla,
I absolutely L-O-V-E this post. How great would it be if every child brought into the world had a mom who understood the importance of giving this gift to their children? Wishing you all the hugs and chocolaty goodness you can stand this Mother’s Day.
Sincerely,
Ouiser
I think of how my parents raised me and how blessed I was to have had them as parents. The least I can do is raise my kids with the same amount of love and respect. Thanks, Ousier. Your eyebrows are looking particularly lovely today.
It’s a new shade called Persimmon Pucker Up. Gives me a glow and is cheaper than an eye lift!
What? you mean you don’t use “Perpetually Bitchy in Bodacious Blue”? Try it, it really works wonders.
I tried that Perpetually Bitchy. It gave me a rash.
Happy Mother’s Day, Darla!!! I hope you get lots of chocolate and meaningful hugs from your babies this weekend!
My son MIGHT let me give him a quick side hug. He just handed me a homemade card from school that had all these nice sweet things on one side “I love you because….” then on the back he drew a heart. He told me to turn the card upside down. Then he cackled, “See? The heart looks like a butt now! A BUTT!! HAHAHAHA!”
Typical.
The old heart turned into a butt trick. Classic!
Your kids are so damn lucky. Of course, so are you! Happy Mother’s Day — may you get many chocolate hugs.
I am soooooo beyond blessed, Elyse. I’m biased, but yeah, my kids are pretty damn amazing human beings.
happy happy! today and every day may all that be yours.
Same to you, mama.
Have to admit, number one almost stopped me from reading the rest because of my gag reflex, but glad I pushed through. 😉 Happy Mother’s Day!
I had to start it with something super gross in the off chance my son would actually read it.
Happy Mother’s Day to one of my favorite moms! I absolutely agree on the ‘respect’ front; that’s been a key lesson in my life.
P.S. – I miss you already. Call me every day.
That respect lesson came from my dad. He also made sure I knew I should never hesitate to help anyone who needs it. The good I can do for someone else will always come back to me.
I miss you too! Sigh. Can’t believe we only got to talk for an hour and a half this time!
Sweet post. Happy mother’s day Darla.
Thanks, Arindam.
Love this: “That you realize what you put out there in the universe, positive or negative, will come back to you times ten.” My mom always says that too. And you know what? Moms are right!
Happy Mother’s Day, Darla! I hope you get to put your feet up and drink an extra large coffee.
That is all I plan on doing all weekend, Jackie!
You’re a great mom. And a fun one too, I’ll bet (even when the kids disagree). Happy Mother’s Day, Darla!! May you get all of these wishes, and more.
Thanks, Weebs!
Very nice Darla. I hope your kids can read! 🙂
My son might read this (until he gets to the sappy stuff)
I’d like my son to stop saying “in a minute.” That would be great.
At least he’s still talking to you at this point, right? I can’t wait for the teen years. Wait a sec, yes I can.
You might want to read my post that I just shot out. You can wait. Seriously. Especially with your daughter. Oy.
This is so sweet! You are a good mom. I forgot to tell my kid these things. That might be why he spent an entire Mother’s Day once in the drunk tank with his friends at the local jail. Just kidding. No I’m not. 😉 He’s really a great kid. A chip off my block and super sensitive and caring. I saw him today on his lunch break at work. He’s still my baby, and I miss him. Hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day, Darla, and that you get tons of hugs, and a half ton of chocolate!
Aw! He’s still your baby, I bet. Drunk tank or not. I hope you have a nice relaxing Mother’s Day with no jail visits.
Lol, thanks! Those days are long gone thank goodness! 🙂
And just on the horizon for me….sigh….I think of all the stuff my brothers got into. Makes me content to have just the 2 kids.
Awww… what a sweet photo of you guys at the end! It’s always a good thing to remember that we get what we put out into the universe. If your kids can learn that valuable lesson at their tender young ages, it will serve them SO WELL as they get older.
My mom always used to tell us that we’d become whatever we judged. (Different variation on the karma theme.) I’ve had it happen to me plenty of times now, but I’m STILL trying to learn that lesson for good. 🙂 Happy Mother’s Day, Darla!
Thanks, Dana! I love your mom’s version of karma. I’m still learning to accept the lesson about what you put out there, comes back to you. It’s a lifelong process, I think.
Your kids are so lucky to have a fun mom like you! Happy chocolatey Mother’s Day!
Thanks, Georgette! To you as well.
Hope you get all you wish for (but you’d probably settle for just half)
Thanks, Cutter and you are SO right about that.
Aw, come on, don’t you want breakfast in bed, consisting of OJ with more pulp than juice, burned toast, soggy cereal, and runny eggs? Then you get the other half of the gift – the sink full of dishes that look like they came from Pompeii! 😀
(Um …not that I’ve ever done that myself. Seriously. i stuck with packaged gifts. Less of an EPA-Superfund left behind. 😉 )
Well, I did tell my husband I wanted a plate of waffles with whipped cream and strawberries and a mug full of coffee served to me in bed. Then I want to stay in that bed the rest of the day. Is that too much to ask?
Happy Mother’s Day to you! Those cutie pies look like little angels, like their mother of course. Enjoy your day…silence is golden, but remember duck tape is silver.
aw, you are too sweet, Life. And very wise. Thank you! (I keep extra duck tape just in case)
Is it wrong that the Mother’s Day gift I so covet is complete solitude? Is that terrible to say to child and husband: Can you leave me the f*** alone all day?
Not terrible at all. Every year when my husband asks me what I want, inside my head I’m screaming “Just give me some ***damn chocolate and leave me the f*** alone! Can ya do that for me? HUH?”
Ahhh….sweet sweet Mother’s Day…
This is so, so wonderful! You are blessed beyond measure, Darla.
Happy (Almost) Mother’s Day
’tis true, Pego. Happy Mother’s Day to you as well!
Very good message! Happy Mother’s Day! And Happy Butt’s Day… if you decide to celebrate that too 🙂
But every day is Happy Butt Day, Steve.
Awwww. Happy Mother’s Day, Darla.
thanks, Laura! had to get all sappy this week. Sigh.
Darla,
I’ll shove my snark where the sun don’t shine this morning. A lovely, lovely post. “Respect will carry you throughout life and help you learn from others”. How I love this, and it’s so simple.
Happy Mother’s Day to you, Darla.
Le Snarkless Clown
The older I get, the more I realize it’s the simplest things we need to work on, especially things like having respect for others. Thanks, Le Snarkless Clown.
Odd you have it in a different month to us, does that mean a Brit living over there or vice versa gets two mothers days?
God, that would be awesome. I’ve always thought Moms should get at the very least a week.
Go for it, your kids will believe anything you tell them won’t they?
Wonderful post. May your Mother’s Day be filled with love, hugs, silence, and of course chocolate.
thanks so much, Nelson! My husband is taking the kids to the in-laws tomorrow so the silence may actually happen.
By the by, I think I forgot to say so in my previous comment. Happy Mother’s Day, Darla! And to all you wonderful mothers out there! 🙂
Thanks, John!
Helping people?? What kind of socialist, namby-pamby, left-wing hoo ha is this!? I’m teaching my daughter that if people are down, it’s because they’re losers and God hates them, and now’s the time to take their stuff.
Also, happy mother’s day.
Again — coffee shot out my nose.
When they’re 21, will you add “and wine” to that last one? 🙂
Oh what a glorious day that will be! “hey, kids, can ya stop at the liquor store on the way home for yer dear ol’ Ma?”
Chocolate hugs, that seems right.
Boys seem to be especially bad for thinking the closet a repository for all things partially eaten. I have found some scary things in my son’s closet, under the bed, etc. The worst being the hermit crab – he wasn’t just looking for a new shell. Happy Mother’s Day Darla.
Beautiful words of wisdom, Darla. If everyone followed thru on this, it would be a wonderful word indeed. Happy Mother’s Day.
Hey Dar! Happy Mother’s Day! Did you know that today is Mother’s Day too? And yesterday? And tomorrow? So much joy knowing that!! No greeting card or fresh cut flowers needed to make my day. Just continue kissing up and tip-toeing quietly and lovingly whilst she sips her coffee (morning) or wine (evening), because none of us wants to push mama over the edge during those transition moments (the first into chaos, the second, out).
Now, go and get your Mother’s Day hugs from those beauties. Oh…and I love the upside-down hearts. One day your loving son will learn the art of cartooning fart sounds and visuals out of that butt crack. It will be a proud day for Mama indeed.
Miss you. I’ll send you an email. 🙂
Aw, I just saw this message, Shannon! I hope you had a relatively chaos-free Mother’s Day, you deserve it.
And my son already does the butt with the fart clouds. Such an artist!
Beautiful post, Darla. You’re so right about the respect thing. And the tuna sandwiches.