What Your Aging Mama Really Wants for Mother’s Day

If you’re like me, May rolls around with all of its holidays and graduations, and invariably, I struggle to come up with a gift for Mother’s Day. What do you get for the woman who has everything? Your life is crazy on a daily basis, and the struggle is real to produce a gift that your mom wants – without resorting to the old standby – a bouquet of flowers.

What does your mama really want for Mother’s Day?

I lost my mom two years ago. She loved surprises, and goodies, and flowers. Most of all she loved me. Last year was my first Mother’s Day without her.

All of my married life was spent in states far away from my mom. There were few that I actually was with her on Mother’s Day, but I knew that even a simple card meant the world to her. Just knowing that I had taken time out of my day to pick out a meaningful card made her day. Something so simple made such a difference to her.

So now, as a mama myself, I can tell you that store bought gifts do not matter a lick on Mother’s Day. Overpriced flowers and expensive chocolate-dipped strawberries are wonderful treats but they don’t show me my kids’ heart. Words do. Actions do. And those don’t cost a thing.

So here is my simple list of tried and true ideas that still mean the most to a mama of any age, but especially if your mama has entered her crowning years.

Give your time.

Your mama wants YOU. That is all. If you can, spend the day with her on Mother’s Day. Or at least a few hours. Talk to her. Let her talk to you. Bring some flowers out of your yard, or a plate of fresh brownies. She longs for time with you, uninterrupted. Your choice to just BE with her, when she knows your schedule is crazy means you CHOSE her. Ask her about herself, especially if she lives alone. Make the day exclusively about her.

Do you need to simplify your life so that you can focus on life’s priorities like Mother’s Day? I’d love to send you my free printable 20 Ways to Simplify Your Life. Just shoot me your email at the end of this post.

Do a household chore.

How can you make life easier for your mom? Is there a project that she would like to get done or something she needs help with? (I’m thinking about the clutter of my own storeroom down in my basement.) Can her home use a spring cleaning? If your mom lives alone, there always seems to be honey-do jobs that need a ‘honey’ to do them. What about jobs up high like dusting the ceiling fans or changing light bulbs? Cleaning the gutters? Washing the windows outdoors? Explain that you’d like to show her your love by helping her do things that may be difficult to do alone.

Clean out her car.

Who doesn’t love a freshly clean car? Bring some supplies with you and maybe a hose and vacuum or shop vac and give your mama the gift of a tidy car. Love means meeting needs. As we age, jobs like this loom harder and larger and may be expensive to have them done. So help her out and wash and vacuum out her car.

Prepare her garden.

Is Mom a gardener? How about helping to get her garden going? A garden can be a big job, and if your mom is aging, gardening may become harder every year. If a bigger garden is now too much for her, she probably has pots sitting around just waiting for some spring planting. Throw some fresh soil and seeds in them and give her the gift of hope and expectation. Do you have some cuttings from your own garden or yard you can bring with you?

Give her a manicure/pedicure.

Give your mom an afternoon at the spa from her own home. Bring some nail polish with you and treat her to a relaxing manicure or pedicure. Pop open some wine or iced tea and turn on some spa music from iTunes or your phone, and you have an instant spa. Bring some smiles and laughs and your mama will feel just as pampered as if she really was at an expensive salon.

Write her a letter.

If you’re like me and live too far away to be with your mom in person on Mother’s Day, write her a meaningful letter. That’s right, forego the store-bought card and spend a few minutes writing a letter about your appreciation for her. Your mom will treasure this piece of your heart forever. Society has jumped off the letter writing boat in this generation. It’s sad, really. A handwritten note in the mailbox is an unexpected treat. Just recently I found a box of letters to my mom from my dad before they were married. I didn’t recognize the people in them. My dad used words like ‘doll-baby’ to describe my mama. It makes me smile just thinking about them. I will treasure them always.

Make your mom a priority this Mother’s Day. Even if you can’t be there with her in person. Show your love in your words. Give her a small piece of your heart by writing a simple letter. Write her a simple love letter. Love letters aren’t always about romantic love.

Again, love is an action verb. Show your mama how you love her and appreciate her sacrifices for you through the years. She birthed you. She showed up to your games and recitals. ALL of them. She let you live to see the end of your teen years. She prays for you. She loves you. She’s given up much of her life meeting your needs.

Now love her by meeting some of hers.

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