Trip Down Memory Lane: Mother's Day Edition

Here's a bit of a Mother's Day letter I sent to my own mom this year. Why is it we never appreciate the sacrifices others make for us while we're living in the middle of it all? I guess a sense of reflection and a step back are required to fully take it all in. Oh, and enjoy the photos - they're done in the "Classic Scrapbook" style. Anyone else guilty of that?


Dear Mum,

I suppose one silver lining on the dark cloud of brain trauma and subsequent memory loss is that you forget all the crappy things your kids did (or didn’t do) for you on Mother’s Day.

Sorry Mom, but we were really rotten in the celebrating you/giving credit where it’s due department. One reason (aside from our own inattentiveness and lack of planning) was that we three kids showed livestock and our first show of the year always, always fell on Mother’s Day weekend.

Instead of spending the day at the spa or being taken out for a fancy brunch, you were busy helping us wash our animals, keeping our show times straight and searching for a lost grooming comb or show stick mere seconds before we entered the show ring. Other mothers received flowers and pedicures from their children while you helped yours clean up manure and scrape dirt off steer hooves. It wasn’t glamorous and we didn’t say thank you very often. You certainly deserved better.


If you ever wished you were somewhere else on those livestock show weekends, you never let it be known. You were the biggest supporter of each of us and did everything you could to ensure we were prepared to do the very best we could every time we entered the show ring. You were genuinely thrilled with us when we did well and offered comfort when we were frustrated with a poor performance. If it had been acceptable to wear a #1 FAN t-shirt and wave a foam finger, you would have willingly done so, all in the name of supporting and encouraging your children.


So this Mother’s Day, walk over to the trophy case in the front room. See those plaques, banners, certificates and trophies from several years of livestock shows? Imagine they’re engraved with the words that should be there. World’s Best Mom, Most Willing to Sacrifice for her Children, Best Supporter, and Least Thanked – Most Appreciated.


Happy Mother’s Day Mum! We love you very much and I promise, we’ll do better.