Friday, November 25, 2016
10 Great Word Ways to Love Mom on Valentines Day
10 Great Word Ways to Love Mom on Valentines Day
 |
Photo by Yuri Levchenko, Creative Commons, via Flickr. |
My mother wasnt perfect (shhh, dont tell her I said that), but she did her best to love my sister and me. Part of that love meant she read poetry to us, every day before we got on the school bus. Part of it was expressed in the walks she took us on, to pick wild strawberries by day or find the Big Dipper and the Seven Sisters by night. She was especially good about making us little handmade cards for Valentines Day. I still remember the unique shape of the tiny hearts shed put by her name, Mommy.
Time has passed, so much time, but the gifts persist--particularly in how she influenced my love of words and gave me ways of seeing the world. If I could give something back to her this year, it would be something from this list (in fact, I chose two, but Im not telling which, in case she happens to find this post, which is unlikely, but you never know what secrets the Internet accidentally divulges).
10 Great Word Ways to Love Your Mother for Valentines Day
1. Everything That Makes You Mom, from the publisher of an inspiring mom website, where you could potentially find even more mom gift ideas. You wont have time to fill this book up with mom-memories before Valentines Day, but you could very well give it to your mother along with a promise to do it together over the phone or lunch for a while, as a way to connect. Watch for the orange poncho and the pancake frisbees.
2. Jealous Poem Stacks. Forget what your mom told you about not being jealous of others. Get jealous for words, and make her some fun poem stacks, pulling from books on birds, gems and minerals, or flowers. You could send the stacks along with that sci-fi chocolate youve been meaning to get her.
3. Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree. Set mom spinning towards a more creative life. You could work on the question sections together and maybe recall some stories of your own that parallel the topics like ritual, being a kid again, and talking to strangers (yes, she told you not to do this; now youll show her it isnt all bad).
4. Every Day Poems. What better way to love your mother than to give her the gift of beautiful, thoughtful, or amusing poetry, right in her inbox? And you neednt stop there. You can discuss the poems together for a great way to enliven your relationship.
5. Hans Christian Andersen, Complete Fairy Tales. Fairy tales are for grownups too. Sometimes we forget that. Take mom back to the time when you read these classic stories together, and help her recapture the delight of the colorful bedtime story. Or, if you missed out on this experience as a child (and mom did too), why not read the tales together for the first time?
6. Love You Forever. Make her cry. Why not? You probably did that countless times over the years. And we promise this will be a good cry. Love You Forever is a childrens book thats really a grownups story, as we watch a young boy grow and eventually care for his own mom. "I love you forever, I love you for always, as long as Im living, my baby [my mommy] youll be." (Bet you cant get through it eitherwithout a needing a tissue.)
7. Sophies Masterpiece: A Spiders Tale. Make her cry again. (Youre on a roll.) This is a beautifully-told story that follows the aging spider Sophie (dont worry, shes a pretty arachnid) and her quest to give beautiful things to people--ending with a final masterpiece gift to a lonely new mother. The pictures are gorgeous, the sentiment deep.
8. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.After numbers 6 and 7 above, mom is probably going to need this. Take her on a hilarious (and sometimes irreverent) adventure with Bill Bryson. She will know hes doing a lot wrong just by the traveling companion he chooses (and may feel satisfied that she taught you better--about how to select your friends and hiking compatriots, as well as your hiking food supplies).
9. Tea With Jane Austen. Maybe your mom was the first to introduce you to the wit of Jane Austen. Its your turn to be the first to introduce her to tea with Jane. This book is a fascinating look at the world of tea in Austens time. Includes quotes from Austen novels and recipes you may wish your mother had made.
10. The Faraway Nearby. A memoir of apricots, mirrors, and a mother descending into dementia. Okay, its probably not best to give this one to her for Valentines Day. But if youre trying to work through troubled memories of mom (or deal with a challenging care-giving situation), this might be just the book to keep for yourself. Thats allowed.
This post is a modified reprint of a post that first appeared at Tweetspeak Poetry.
source 10 Great Word Ways to Love Mom on Valentines Day
Available link for download
