It’s almost that time of year again: Mother’s Day. You nearly forgot, didn’t you?
We all love our mothers – well, we all should. After all, they did bring you into this world. Yes, Dad had a hand in your creation, too, but he’ll have his time in the sun next month. This Sunday is all about Mom and how awesome she is. Everybody is going to be spending quality time with Mom, right? Wrong.
Many will be spending time with this special lady.
“I’m going home for Mother’s Day,” said Joseph Marcelo, a junior from San Jose. “It’s the least I can do.”
Marcelo doesn’t mind the drive down, which clocks in at a little less than two hours, and looks forward to enjoying the weekend. “I’m really just going down for the dinner,” Marcelo chuckled. “Just kidding.”
And many aren’t fortunate enough to live close to their parents. People come from near and far to study here in Davis. Sometimes that six-hour road trip or overnight flight simply isn’t worth it. Well, your mother is always worth any trouble, but face it: sometimes you just don’t want to inconvenience yourself. That is completely understandable.
If it’s not just distance alone that’s keeping some of us away from our mothers, it could be other obligations such as jobs and, much more commonly, midterms. Mother’s Day just so happens to roll around midterm season every spring, and midterms are a drag – Mother’s Day or not. “I’m going to call my mom because I kind of don’t want to go home,” said Hanh Nguyen, a senior, as her eyes found the ground. “I have a paper and midterm next week and want to stay to work on them.”
It’s a fact: not everyone gets the chance to see his or her mother in person for Mother’s Day. There are other options for you to consider, however. You can toss her a phone call; that’s always nice. When’s the last time she’s had your voice grace her ears or vice versa? There’s probably a pleasant conversation to be had between the both of you. Catch up and let her know how you’re doing. She’s probably been worried – parents always worry.
If your mom is especially tech savvy (hopefully not savvy enough to have a Facebook), you could video-chat with her via webcam. It’s as close to talking face-to-face with her in the flesh as you can get, and if things get awkward or drawn out, you can just feign an internet connection failure and close the window; what a coincidence!
Don’t have any means of calling or a computer to video-chat or you don’t want to? You could kick things back into the Stone Age and send a postcard or letter. Just remember that mail isn’t delivered on Sundays, chief. A bad ass would arrange for a flower delivery. Do whatever you’d like for Mother’s Day – it’s the thought that counts (cheesy huh?).
You may be swamped with work this weekend and/or stranded in Davis, but you can, at the very least, muster the energy to phone your mom and let her know just how awesome she really is – ’cause she is. Your mom has toiled away for you and, damn it, she deserves to be celebrated for being the trooper she is. You owe it to her. It’s your duty as a child. Or, you could always be the person who “forgot.” I know that I won’t. I’ll be having a nice brunch with my mom and, if I can muster the courage to ask, have her pluck my eyebrows this weekend. I wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day!
LARRY HINH loves his mom. FEEL THE LOVE AND E-MAIL HIM AT lthinh@ucdavis.edu. YES.
