I had a kind of silly epiphany last week concerning Mother's Day, that I credit to my girlfriend's good influence on me. The epiphany was entitled, "Flowers: To Send or Not To Send?" The first section obviously cited previous research on the subject, namely all the previous years I had considered sending flowers, but didn't, because I felt they were too trite, and weren't special enough to show real appreciation to my mom. So instead, I waffled until Mother's Day came around, and then I guiltily picked up the phone and told her Happy Mother's Day, feeling like the most worthless daughter ever.
Following the acknowledgement of past works came the new breakthrough formula:
no flowers = no sign of appreciation = 0
flowers = a sign of appreciation = 1
1 > 0
a sign of appreciation > no sign of appreciation
therefore, flowers > no flowers
...or in other words, in conclusion, "'Tis greater to give flowers than to give no flowers." Duh! I spent all that time fretting over doing something great, and all that time I was just sending the message to my mom that I wasn't even thinking of her at all.
Yeah, it's pretty silly, but it took me a few years to figure it out. ; P
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I totally agree (surprise, surprise). I think Moms are some of the most underappreciated folks in the world. We just get kind of used to them being there for us regardless of what happens. The problem with unconditional love is it's got no conditions. Talk about your all time moral hazards. But that's what makes it so great, I guess.
I remember when I was in high school my Dad would never send my Mom flowers. One day she got a bouquet of roses and I was so happy for her. What actually happened, was that she was so tired of not getting anything on Valentine's Day that she sent them to herself. Now that's pretty sad. (Insert comment to Dad.) Ever since then it really struck home how much even a little gift like that brings. There's something nice about getting something from someone far(ther) away. For me, it sends the message that even if they're not with you, you're still in their thoughts.
Now for the most underappreciated population ever, that means a lot.
To our wonderful moms,
Catherine
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