A Step Beyond Flowers and Chocolates on Mother’s Day

This Mother’s Day, honor the small, everyday acts like family meals that make a monumental impact. 

By: David Fikes, Executive Director, FMI Foundation 

My wife is the photographer in our family. In fact, the joke in our clan is that no event is real until she has wrangled a picture of us doing whatever we are there to do or seeing whatever we are there to see. Each time she announces it is picture time, my daughter and I stifle a groan at the intrusion into the flow, but in truth, we have learned to be grateful that she records these memories. We forget what we’ve done and what we’ve seen until our memory is jogged during a scroll through my wife’s photo file or when we receive a random photo from her, reminding us of our adventure. 

Like so many things she does to keep the family bonds strong and the family train running smoothly, we take her penchant for photos for granted. It takes energy to corral us and convince us to smile for the camera, and I am grateful she pushes through our resistance to record our family moments. It is a small thing, but it pays huge dividends. 

This Mother’s Day, I challenge you to consider all the little things the mothers in your life do that contribute to the cohesiveness and health of your family and flip the script. If you have a maternal force who is the driving energy behind the family eating together, then assume that responsibility and be the leader who brings everyone to the table for a meal together. 

If she is the one who decides the menu, cooks the food, sets the table and serves the plates, then absolve her of that chore and take it on. By taking on the task, you not only give her a little break, you will learn that there is much more to it than you thought.

Shopping for the food and preparing a meal that EVERYONE will eat is not as simple as it looks. Coordinating the cooking so that all the meal elements arrive in sync is not an easy task. Wrangling the schedule of all the family members with their assorted activities and getting everyone to the table without setting someone off is no small order. 

If your maternal influence is a gardener, get your hands in the dirt on her behalf. If she is the matron saint of thank-you notes, then write her a thank-you letter. If she is a reader, quiz her on the latest tome she loved. If she is a fashion maven, find out who her style influences are and dress up for her. 

This Mother’s Day, honor the mothers in your life by naming and taking on some of the things they contribute that are the glue holding your family together. Even if they are small – like a family meal – she will revel in your acknowledgment of the influence she has had, including the recognition that the small things add up to a monumental impact on those you love. 

And make sure you get a picture of it.