For my Mom.

This year for Mother's Day, I went simple. I tried to come up with something original, yet simple, and didn't even try to compare or compete with my sister to see who could come up with the sweetest gift. I got an idea in my head and just went with it.

First I bought a potted gerber daisy plant. It has 3 big blooms already on it and is just beautiful. My mom and I both love gerber daisies. Second, I bought a flat of individual seed starters sectioned to create about 45 individual plants. I bought a variety of herbs & flowers; lavender, sunflower, sage, basil, oregano and catnip (for my cat, as she still has 'custody' of the cat I had in college, when I left home for good she wouldn't let me take my/her cat with me! Its still a joke that all these years later I still want my Muffin back. She'd rather die than give me my cat).

I planted, put garden tags in each section identifying each area of plants, watered and tended to this herb garden all week. I took it out for sun in the afternoons and kept it warm in my garage at night. They are all just on the cusp of sprouting any day now.

I hope my Mom sees the thought that went behind my simple gift and really likes it. She does enjoy gardening so I'm pretty sure she will. I bought a card and included the following to explain my gifts:

Though grown tenderly out of sight, that first moment you lay eyes upon your child, there is an immediate feeling of love & instant gratification. Mothers around the world declare their baby is the most beautiful one of all. May these daisies that were also grown out of sight represent the love, instant gratification & beauty you saw in me that moment our eyes first met.

And then, the hard part begins. Parenting involves so much more than the instant gratification you receive upon your baby's birth. You had to nurture me, feed me, believe in me. With a little luck & a whole lot of patience, I slowly began to sprout.

But sometimes I wilted. Thank you for always making sure I had what I needed to spring back to life. Thank you for always believing that I could.

Sometimes the wind was just too strong for me to stand alone. Thank you for always offering unwavering support - just what I needed to pick myself back up and continue to stand tall.

Many trying years later, once I had all my sprouts in order, you were finally given the gratification of watching me bloom. It was then I saw you pull back, thinking I didn't need you any longer to help me grow. You couldn't have been more wrong.

Like a plant, I'm never done growing. I'll never stop needing the tending of my mom, even now that I'm in full bloom.

I planted you this herb garden so you could think of me as you watch these plants grow. With a little luck & a whole lot of patience, I hope you're able to watch them sprout & bloom, with gratitude, just like I did. I love you, Mom, and there is no way my life would be what it is today without you.

Happy Mothers Day,
Marissa