Last Minute Mother’s Day Project
Mother’s Day finds me divided against myself.
On one hand, I’m absolutely prepared to graciously receive the adoration and pampering coming my way. Like every other mother of young children I’ve talked to in the past week, I’m hoping for a combination of freedom from all motherly duties and snuggle time with my little ones.
On the other, I feel remarkably lucky. My children are already wishing me “Happy Mother’s Day” with kisses every morning, unclear on the calendar requirements. My life runs as smoothly as life with kids under ten can run. I can’t help but think of the many mothers who are in more difficult positions this May.
I came up with a few quick ideas for a last minute Mother’s Day outreach.
- Contact the local nursing home and offer to make cards or decorations for their mother’s day celebration.
- Contact the local shelter with the same offer.
- Contact the local Children’s hospital with the same offer.
All of these places have volunteer coordinators who are happy to connect you with their own upcoming Mother’s Day happenings, or, as I discovered, accept whatever limited offer of time and consideration that you can make.
We wound up making cards for a nearby nursing home, inspired partly by an out-of-town family member’s recent move to a similar facility. Over the past two days, the girls have put together about 16 cards, carefully decorating them with handprints, spring stickers, and water color paintings. We also glued in a couple of appropriate poems I printed out of a recent e-mail forward.
In a Hundred Years
….it will not matter what my
bank account was, the sort of
house I lived in or the kind
of car I drove…..but the world may be
different because I was
important in the life of a
CHILD
With the handprint pictures, this one also seemed very sweet:
Children have a certain way
of growing bigger every day,
But those little hands
and that special smile
remain in your
heart a long, long while.
While we crafted the cards, I talked with Miss Kindergarten and Little Miss Three about mothers in general. We talked about how a mother is still a mother even when her children grow up and move out on their own. We talked about how it might feel to get a cheery card from a little kid on a special day celebrating mothers.
The longer we talked, the more care and thought they put into decorating their cards. Little Miss Three and I will drop off our stash tomorrow, picking up a volunteer application at the same time. Everyone needs a cheery visitor now and then, and that is one thing young children can do rather well.
Good luck with your own projects. Let me know how you broaden Mother’s Day beyond graciously receiving your own well-deserved pampering.
Children have a certain way
of growing bigger every day,
But those little hands
and that special smile
remain in your
heart a long, long while.
Tags: Craft, Improving Lives
