Photo Credit: iStock.com/Artist's pixelfit
There is nothing in the world that a mother won’t do for her kid. Sick or old, happy or compromising, she would go to any length to make her child a healthy and productive human being. She nourishes his body and soul with all that she has and strives to be more resourceful for his sake. This is the ultimate truth of nature. Some wise person said: when God couldn’t be everywhere; he created mothers.
Such is the love and mercy of a mother that a child learns to find peace and success in life through her. Today we have millions of successful people in the world; a great many of failures too. Behind every good soul and worthy human being, you will find a mom proudly smiling at them. But, it is not the spoiling mom that wins the race. It is the one whose children are mostly complaining that their mom is never-pleased pusher, who demands the best results from her kids – almost ruthlessly. It’s not about being robotic either. There has to be a balance, just like there is in Mother Nature. Nature has laws that shape the bounties and tragedies of the universe. Whiners complain about nature just like they complain about the people in their lives. But no matter, how much a person gets agitated; he asks his mother to pray for his triumph during every test and trial in life.
They say that to be in your child’s memories tomorrow, you must be a part of their lives today. I don’t think parents need to await death to reap the benefits of their hard work with their children. If they build a relationship with them, if they set strong family bonding among the kids, the kids will remember them at every special moment in their lives. They would not only share but also remember to celebrate the important moments of your lives. Whether it is their parents’ wedding anniversary or birthday, they will be their make a toast and hug the parents to comfort them in their old age.
Mother’s Day is one such instance of children acknowledging the efforts and sacrifices a mother makes out of sheer love for them. She bestows upon them her affection and favors at all times. That is one day when we show our mothers to what extent we understand and reciprocate their love in everyday life. It could be a nice breakfast that you prepare for her, or some fresh flowers, or a few gifts; whatever you choose to please your mom with, try practicing it more often in your life and let her know exactly how much she means to you.
There has been a retail survey on shopping for Mother’s Day 2014 recently. According to the research conducted by QuestionPro, Inc., another online survey software provider, 41% of the respondents confessed spending more in gifts on Mother’s Day than on Father’s Day, with 50% customers feeling convinced that they feel better spending more on mom. Although, sadly, 60% of the respondents didn’t even know the origin of Mother’s Day, they all seemed pretty excited to get her the most perfect gift ever. This obviously escalates the online shopping mania as 35% of respondents plan on purchasing gifts online, while 45% plan to visit an actual store.
This year’s going to be the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day as an officially recognized holiday in United States. Another survey by National Retail Federation reveals that around $20 billion are expected to be spent by shoppers on this year’s Moms’ Day. Thankfully, people are buying actual cards instead of e-cards which became en vogue in the past few years. Greeting cards are, by far, the most preferred gift this year among all others. The above image gives details of what more people are buying for their moms this year.
Is there any such thing as the most perfect gift for anyone out there? There could be! We don’t need an online survey to validate this point. Simple common sense will do.
The best most potent action you can do for a loved one is to give them your time. Make them feel loved and respected by being there to share in the good and bad times. Mother’s Day is, perhaps, the best time to alleviate grievances with your mother and spending time with her. This doesn’t cost you much, does it!?
It is never about showing that you care with an expensive gift. We now have a common misconception that high price means quality – of both the gift and the relationship. However, research confirms that the emotion driving you to spend more does not come across to the recipient of the gift. Researchers at Stanford University issued a study in 2009 in which they declared: “Gift-givers assume that more expensive gifts convey a higher level of thoughtfulness. Gift-recipients, in contrast, reported no such association between gift price and their actual feelings of appreciation.”
There is ultimately just one solution to your dilemma, i.e. ask your mom what she wants. For most of the mothers out there, the answer is going to be none other than ‘time’. Author Liz O’Donnell asked several working mothers what they wanted for Mother’s Day and the top responses all included “alone time, a break, time with my children.”
Do you agree that spending some quality time with your mother could be a greater deal for her than an expensive iPad? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Kelvin Stiles is a tech enthusiast and works as a marketing consultant at SurveyCrest – FREE online survey software and publishing tools for academic and business use. He is also an avid blogger and a comic book fanatic.