gifts – Kristine Binder

For Mother’s Day this year, my kids gave me a card and a gift. The card made me laugh and and gift had me feeling spoiled. The gift was a new purse. For some it might not seem like a big deal but the many layers of symbolism in this extravagant gift are not lost on me.
When my kids were younger and acting silly, making me lose my mind, I would joke (sometimes not…) that I wanted to sell them to the circus. Why? They made my life a circus and I wanted some peace. They would have been perfect circus performers!
My children grew up celebrating Mother’s Day focused on the other important women in their lives, not on me. As kids, they didn’t have money and were not given money to purchase gifts from a store for mom. I received handmade cards and gifts made in school that I treasure to this day.
As my children have gotten older, they have developed an appreciation for the finer things in life, as well as the work it takes to afford those things. They all love a good quality designer handbag. Me? I go for a large utility carryall. The name on the tag doesn’t matter to me as much as how much stuff I can carry inside! I gave up small purses for a diaper bag over 20 years ago and never looked back!
Now, in this new chapter of my life, my kids want me to continue to downsize my life …starting with my purse. They wanted a “fancier” one for when I go out. They want me to start living my best life.
My kids and I have not always had the greatest relationships. We have struggled and strained, working hard, to get to the place where we are now. The fact that they all came together to purchase this gift and kept it a secret is amazing. The fact that they want to spoil me, buying me a gift that I would never buy for myself, is overwhelming. The fact that my kids put this much thought, effort and money into a gift for me has me feeling blessed beyond measure.
These kids are my kids…. my monkeys ….and this is my circus…..I am the ringmaster. We all just needed some time to figure it out, appreciate it and decide what role we play.
Each year, Mother’s Day is different for all of us.
Take each day as it comes and focus on the good in each day. Your kids are watching, listening and learning, even if you don’t believe or see it.
Just be their mom. And enjoy the fancy purse!
Peace
#tutulady
#forwardisapace

“How much for the flowers?”
“Honey….you feeling ok? You sound all sorts a stuffed up…”
“Oh….just allergies….”
And that is how the conversation started at the farmers market on a Saturday morning. We stood 6 feet apart, with a table full of fresh produce between us as we chatted. She told me about her vocal chord surgery and how wearing a mask was difficult for her….but she did it anyway. She told me about her 25 surgeries (“Maybe more….I think I lost count…”). She told me about her missing kneecap and the pain in her good one. She told me that farming crops was good for her soul. When I jokingly asked what she did to relax, she said she sat at her sewing machine and made the masks she donated and sold.
“I learned a long time ago that ya can’t let life get ya down…..Only the good Lord knows why I am upright and above ground and he ain’t tellin’ so I gotta keep goin’ and see the good in it all.”
“You are amazing and made my day! So….how much for the flowers?”
“You take ’em honey….you were the good in my day today….”
I left a $10 on her table and walked away with a smile on me face vowing to “see the good in it all” all day long every day.
A change in perspective makes all the difference in how we see things. We can see things from a negative viewpoint or find the good in it all. I choose to see the good.
Peace.
#tutulady
#forwardisapace

Tag: gifts

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