Friday, May 11, 2012

What a Difference A Day (and the Mail) Makes!

Yesterday I was feeling very low. I already knew that my Mother's Day gift from Patrick and RP would be going out to eat. Not a card, not a bottle of wine, not a really nice diamond for me to set into a piece of jewelry for myself ... just dinner.

Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate being told to pick someplace to go eat where *I* didn't have to cook. But I also knew that depending on which place to eat I chose, my husband was inevitably going to ask if we should bring Grandma. *sigh* I love my Mother In Law, I really do. She is very involved in RP's life and takes him to Story Time at the Library as well as Sunday School (a bit too often for this non-Christian Mommy) plus sometimes even just to go to the park to play on the playground. Having that small amount of time to myself is PRICELESS. But with "sharing" so many holidays with her (Christmas Eve is ALWAYS at Grandma's house) I get a little tired of not having a special day all to myself.

Then I read something on one of my favorite blogs Rants From Mommyland about a project they had. Back during the Holiday season last year they started hooking up Mommies who needed some help (Hookees) and some encouragement with Mommies who wanted to help (Hookers). It was such a big hit that they decided to do it again. This time it was for Mother's Day and they were calling it the Mother Pucker Project. To boil down the idea ... Mommies who needed some encouragement and support and just a little Mommy Love would get gifts and all the Mommy Love that another Mommy could send. Now, I had not yet started following these AWESOME Mommies back in November and December, so I couldn't help out back then. But I decided I COULD help out this time, at least a little bit. The problem was that I felt also that I needed a bit of Mommy Love myself. See, my mommy died 10 years ago this Mother's Day. I didn't tell the wonderful Mommies behind Rants From Mommyland (who actually live only about 1 1/2 hours away from me) that little bit of information. For some reason it just didn't come up in my email. But the closer I got to Mother's Day the more the realization that Mom had been gone for 10 years just hit me in the face. This comes a week and a day after the anniversary of my older brother, Butch, being gone for 13 years. Needless to say, I have been in lower and lower spirits as the week has gone on. I miss them both so much! Go ahead and do the math ... RP is 5 years old and my brother and mom have been gone for 13 and 10 years respectively.

So, earlier this week I got my first Mother Pucker gift - the card from Erin who wanted to be pen pals. This was sweet, and I'm still not sure that I am really up to the task of writing to a pen pal; but I'm willing to try. I wrote her a 3 page letter which I printed out (since my handwriting is HORRIBLE if I write for too long) and some pictures of the insane asylum inmates I live with. But I was honestly still feeling lower and lower. Then today ... the PACKAGE arrived from a different Mother Pucker named Melissa. It has a bunch of stuff and was actually already FEATURED on Rants From Mommyland (so I'm going to steal their picture becuase my house is a mess).

Mother Pucker Survival Kit
Included in the kit is an explanation:

Mother Pucker Survival Kit


Advil- For all of life’s “headaches”, whatever or whoever they may be


Baby Wipes- Because they are ah-freaking-mazing. Hello, I mean, what else can you use to take off your make up AND clean the toilet?


Ear Plugs- Because sometimes Calgon can’t take you away and you NEED a few minutes of peace, or because if you have to listen to DJ Lance on Yo Gabba Gabba one more time you might have to open up a fresh can


Dark Chocolate- Because Mommy needs her antioxidants!


Lip Gloss- To remind you of your inner sexy…bonus, the watermelon scent should mask the fact that it’s 4pm and you haven’t had a chance to brush your teeth


Individual T-Box- Because, obviously!!

I honestly feel that the Mother Pucker gift *I* sent out pales in comparison to this gift to me. I sent my Mother Pucker 3 tubes of beeswax lip balm in Chai Tea, Creme Brulee and Caramel flavors, a Thank You card and a natural Star Sapphire Pendant with a yellow diamond accent that I had made on a 22" chain.





The note I wrote


I feel that I didn't do much since I had the setting, stones and chain on hand due to my shop Cat's Creations on Etsy ... but I felt strongly that this Mommy needed to know she was a star. It didn't take as much planning and thought as what Melissa sent to me (and hers was one of the packages I felt humbled by before I knew it was FOR ME).

To say that this gift from Melissa and the offer of a pen pal friendship has touched me would be an understatement. They were just what I NEEDED today, especially since I almost literally cried myself to sleep last night and woke up feeling slightly better (at least I wasn't in danger of crying again) but still blue and bereft. Thanks to my Mother Puckers and BIG thanks to Rants From Mommyland in setting this while project in motion. You all ROCK MY FACE OFF!

No comments:

Post a Comment