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Twin Cities Mom Collective

Mother’s Day Tradition with A Twist

The tradition of Mother’s Day began in the early 1900s by Anna Jarvis as a way to honor mothers and their dedication to and sacrifices for their children. In the United States, Mother’s Day lands on the second Sunday of May.

Did you get that significant others? The second Sunday of May. Every year.

While we should show our moms appreciation and love every day, having a century long excuse to celebrate mom for a whole day is reason enough not to argue.

Mother’s Day is a tradition and traditions, well, I love ’em. I love how every family has their own unique customs that are passed down from generation to generation. It’s justification to unapologetically do things a certain way. And while some traditions fizzle fast, others are here to stay.

Growing up, our Mother’s Day traditions were minimal, but special nonetheless. Maybe not the several Mother’s Days that fell the day after prom which included all-night post prom resulting in zombie-like children who slept the majority of the day and emerged from the darkness to deliver homemade Mother’s Day cards.

Ahh, there’s the silver lining.

Handmade, homemade cards.

Mother's Day Tradition with A Twist | Twin Cities Moms Blog

That was our tradition. And still is.

Although none of my cards growing up were frame-worthy — think glitter explosion, repetitive flowers (they were perennials!) and 4-year old chicken scratch — they were original, creative and one of a kind.

Our imaginations had access to glue, glitter, pipe cleaners, scissors, markers, crayons, colored pencils, stencils, stickers and construction paper. Oh, the colorful construction paper!

The cards created at the desks in our childhood bedrooms were for our mom and our mom only. No other mom received those cards and our mom loved them.

Love might not be the best descriptive word for the card that had toenails in it, but it got points for creativity. Kuddos to my sister for that one.

And I recently found out that my mom saved nearly all of our cards — the toenails had to go.

Check out this gem with a predictable perennial… circa 1993!

Mother's Day Tradition with A Twist | Twin Cities Moms Blog

Homemade cards, without toenails, is a tradition I want to carry on with my now family of three, but with a little twist. And with the price of cards these days (uff dah!), this is a money wise tradition to boot.

Now, I’m not a walking definition of a hoarder but I do like to save things, especially items that are sentimental. So with my family’s tradition of homemade cards, my twist is to keep them forever. In one place.

Last year for my first “official” Mother’s Day, I bought a sketch book for $8 to jumpstart the tradition. The book will house the annual cards and every year my son will get to create a Mother’s Day card in the sketch book. Year after year, my Mother’s Day cards will all be in the same place.

A new year. A new page. A new memory.

Mother's Day Tradition with A Twist | Twin Cities Moms Blog

Someday when my son is old enough to leave the nest, he is an owl after all, I can flip through the book of cards, admire his creative development and reminisce about his childhood. I’m not naïve to the fact that one day he will no longer reach for my hand to hold, so selfishly I want to encapsulate memories. The hand that won’t hold mine forever will be the hand that creates forever Mother’s Day cards.

So as we approach the second Sunday in May, I don’t need anything fancy, just a homemade card from the heart.

And mommas, this tradition is one that will work great for the third Sunday in June, too.  (wink, wink)

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