By Patti Parish-Kaminski, Publisher
The struggle – and the cost – is real when searching for the perfect Mother’s Day card.
I believe I need a career change. I got so aggravated the other day, I know exactly what that change should be. Somebody with some sense and the ability to express sentiments in a meaningful and memorable way needs to join the Hallmark team, because the options when choosing a greeting card are slim and none.
Sure, every once in a while, you will hit on a card that’s funny or speaks to you. Unfortunately, said card is usually $6 – for paper with words and a visual. Really?
I literally stood in Walgreens in the card aisle for a solid ten minutes combing through cards for Mother for Mother’s Day. I found sappy, stupid and sparse. Should it be this hard?
I picked up one that expounded a sentiment that talked endlessly about a lifetime of memories made and the profound impact a mother has made – for two pages. Seriously? If I gave that to Mother, she would immediately think I was dying.
I am a poem writing phenom – been so since I was young. I still remember the beginning of a poem I wrote for Mother’s Day when I was in first grade. It went something like this:
“Mothers, mothers, we all have them.
They cook and sew and clean the den.”
In my defense, I had gone to private school up until then and didn’t realize that indeed, everyone did not have a mother and surely didn’t have a mother like mine – one who got me up every morning, dressed me in cute outfits, did my hair (which has always been a beast) and got me to school in a timely manner every day. That’s saying a lot because Mother is not a morning person either.
I can a pen a poignant poem for a specific occasion and have done so for years. When my babies were little, I threw them theme birthday parties. More times than not, the invitation was a poem to commemorate the occasion. Now for those of you going, “Ahhh, that’s so sweet,” about now, I will tell you my babies were not overly in awe of my efforts. “Looks good,” was about the best response I received. Kassidi nearly always edited hers; I can appreciate that. But I thought – and still think – they were fabulous. And yes, I have copies of all the invitations filed accordingly: Kassidi’s 2nd Birthday, Kolton’s 3rd Birthday, etc. I’m that momma.
In the end, my expedition to find the perfect Mother’s Day card wasn’t a complete waste of time. I left the drug store empty handed and went to my go to for all things celebratory: Dollar Tree. I found a card with a beautiful cover that simply said, “Happy Mother’s Day.” There was ample room inside the blank pages for me to write my own words. That works for me. And all for $1.25. Yes, the Dollar Tree is actually $1.25 now. No truth in advertising there.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of our porch-sittin’ mommas. I hope your day is filled with flowers, sparkle and wine, and best of all, time with your babies. All the happy things that fill a momma’s heart with joy. See y’all next week – on the porch!
Patti Parish-Kaminski
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