Mother’s Day-Can You Hear Me Now?
By: Mary Fran Bontempo
To hear an audio version of this post, click the play arrow below.
Once again, the annual homage to mothers is upon us.
Next Sunday is Mother’s Day and for weeks now, we’ve been barraged with advertisements encouraging kids and dads to part with their cash to honor mommy with the perfect gift.
But the truth is the perfect gift can’t be bought, no matter how much money they throw at it. The perfect gift for moms is free, but we’ll never, ever receive it because our kids don’t want to give it to us, and neither do their fathers.
The perfect gift for moms can be summed up in a word: LISTEN.
Listen when we tell you to do your homework. Listen when we say, “Don’t fight with your sister.” Hear us when offer advice about your love life. (And if you sense that we aren’t crazy about your boy/girlfriend, pay attention; there’s probably a good reason.)
Focus when we give guidance—about school, work, friendships, etc. We really do have a clue; we’ve walked the walk. For god’s sake, listen when we tell you to stay off the phone while you’re driving. It could save your life and the lives of others.
When we tell you not to do something, it’s usually because we know that if you do whatever it is, you’ll probably get hurt. And that’s the worst thing that could ever happen to us—you getting hurt. It’s what keeps us up at nights, formulating speeches in our heads to try and keep you off some path of destruction.
It doesn’t even really matter if you roll your eyes, or sigh disgustedly, or even pretend to ignore us as we try to instruct you through life, as long as you hear us. As long as you listen.
Since we’re on the subject, it wouldn’t hurt for you fathers to listen to us, either. Granted, sometimes we sound like strung out harpies, but we’re only trying to keep everyone happy, healthy and on track towards success. Do you have any idea how hard that is? If everyone would just pay attention, and yes, please, the first time we say it, life would be a lot easier all the way around.
Believe it or not, most of us aren’t in love with the sound of our own voices. We’re in love with you, kids and dads. We want what’s best for you, what’s good for you, and although we occasionally get a little crazy and obsessive, most of the time…here it comes…we’re RIGHT.
So this Mother’s Day, if you really want to give mom the perfect gift, listen to her. For one whole day, whatever she says, goes. After that, maybe you could build up your tolerance, perhaps, by listening to one thing a day, then two, until you come to the realization that mom’s not so dumb after all.
Oh who am I kidding? Having everyone listen would be perfect, but then again, we’d never be able to say, “I told you so.”
On second thought, chocolate and jewelry sound just right. Happy Mother’s Day!
What’s your ideal Mother’s Day gift? Click “comments” below and share!
I like Listen–it would mean that the members of our families are actually around to hear us. Oh, wait–do I mean that? I think I do.
Joanne Clothier
Totally agree, Mary Fran, Listen sounds good to me.
And chocolates too.
Great post. If we needn’t repeat ourselves and beat our heads against the wall, what on earth would we do with all of our free time?