Countless local moms are waking up this morning to hastily prepared breakfast from their children that often includes runny eggs, burned toast and spilled orange juice. It’s usually accompanied by home-constructed Mother’s Day cards from the kids, sparkly messes of construction paper and glitter with crayon messages of love with the child’s photo pasted in the middle.
Mom already knows they probably ingested some of the stick glue in the card construction.
There are promises on Mother’s Day that Mom will have peace and quiet for 24 hours — no arguments about whether shoes or baths are mandatory and whether bedtime has to be regulated. Promises of good behavior abound.
We asked area moms about the Mother’s Day gift they hold most dear. Here’s what they told us.
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When it’s your first Mother’s Day as a mom
Cory Caulfield, Columbus, found out last Father’s Day that she and her husband Raistlin were expecting, so this year is her first Mother’s Day with 11-week-old Remmi.
“I think she’s the best gift,” she said.
A keepsake memory
On special occasions, Lindsay Budd will wear an emerald necklace, a gift for her first Mother’s Day, after little Olivia was born 18 months ago.
The emerald signifies the birthstone for May, her birthday month, she said.
Budd and her family are new to Columbus, having arrived just a few weeks ago, and they are all adjusting to a new city and new activities.
“This is my first time at being a stay-at-home mom,” she said as she wheeled Olivia in a stroller down Washington Street after a visit to the Commons playground. “We’re just learning about our new home.”
Spending the day …. with Mom
Some moms who are spending today with their kids are also thinking about their own mothers on Mother’s Day.
Angelica Renteria says her most memorable gift on Mother’s Day was about eight years ago when she spent the whole day with her own mother, whom she only gets to see one or two times a year.
“It was before I moved to Columbus,” she said of spending the day with her mother in Mexico.
Renteria said she cherishes that time and the memories of those hours.
For Mother’s Day this year, Renteria said she probably will spend the day with her husband, Osvaldo Reyes, and children, Perla Reyes, 3, Sofia Reyes, 8, and Oscar Reyes, 13.
The kids have worked with their father to plant a new flower bed in the garden.
“That’s what I chose,” she said. “Don’t buy a dozen roses — my husband and the kids planted the flowers together.”
Forget the gift, just give me time
When Christina Mendez-Monroy, Columbus, considers her most memorable Mother’s Day gift, she considers it to be the gift of time.
The time she is referring to is however much time she can spend with her five sons, who range in age from age 2 to age 14.
“Every Mother’s Day and every gift is memorable to me,” she said. “I want to spend all of my time with my five boys — just hanging out for mom time.”
This mother’s day, Mendez-Monroy and her sons Christopher, 14, Rudy, 10, Rudyrue, 9, Roberto, 5 and Antonio, 2, will probably have a cookout, she said.
Take a picture
Mom Stephani Hoy was juggling two of her children’s activities at the Bartholomew County Public Library when asked about her most memorable Mother’s Day gift.
She said the gifts she most treasures are the photos of her children as they are growing up — snapshots of where they are and where they’ve been as they grow.
Hoy’s children, Calvin, 6, Connor, 4 and Charlotte, 2, enjoy storytime at the library and Connor particularly enjoys the computer learning activities at the library, although he was willing to pause for a moment for a photo with his mom.
Seeing the changes through photos
Rachelle Cole, Columbus, was busy corralling three of her children in a stroller when asked about her favorite Mother’s Day gift.
She said it would have to be the cards and keepsakes each has made for her over the years, including several that include a few thoughts about her and Mother’s Day.
“Those have been definitely interesting,” she said. “You find out a lot of things you didn’t know they were thinking.”
All the keepsakes from Aaron Rister, 10, Cole Rister, 4, Audrey Rister, 3 and Jack Rister, 2, go into a scrapbook where she can look back on the memories.
“It’s fun to see the differences in them through the years,” she said.
What’s on the menu?
Mother’s Day morning for Mandy Cobb usually includes handmade cards and gathered flowers from the yard, and yes, the kids making breakfast for her. And those are her favorites, she said.
“Luckily my husband (David) is very good at cleanup,” she said.
Hannah Beth, 9, Joshua, 7, and Elijah, 5, initially mentioned pancakes or oatmeal for their mother this morning, before Joshua chimed in about serving “that cereal that no one knows what it is.”
When the kids were asked what made their mom so special, Hannah Beth threw her arms around her mom and said, “She loves us.”
“Oh that’s the best,” Cobb said as the other two added in their hugs.
