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Mother, May I?

(Reprinted from Sky’s Junior Gardener Newsletter, May 2006)

Sky’s Junior Gardeners is a gardening club for K-6th graders who show an interest in gardening. The club is free and includes a monthly newsletter and complimentary gift each month. Call or come in to sign up your Junior Gardener today!

Mother, Mama, Mom, or Mommy. Whatever you call her, there is a strong bond between that parent and you. And to honor and remember mothers, the second Sunday in May is celebrated as Mother’s Day.

This holiday was originally suggested years ago by Anna M. Jarvis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her own mother had dealt with many tragedies while raising eleven children in West Virginia. When her mother died on May 9, 1906, Anna longed for the support of friends and family in the rural countryside where she lived. She decided to hold a service in honor of her mother and she asked everyone to wear a carnation. Through the years she wrote to newspapers and publications suggesting that a day in May be set aside for honoring mothers. In 1914, President Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday. Even now, many people wear carnations on Mother’s Day: pink or red for those mothers still living and a white carnation for mothers who have died.

How will you honor or remember your mother this May? Spending time with her does not cost you anything! A kind hug, a small task done, something good to eat, a card or flowers will put a smile on her face and warmth in her heart.

Mother, may I? Yes, you may!

Skylights Spring/Summer 2007, Vol 22, No. 2

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