When I was little I went with my Mum to buy her a Mothers’ Day present.
In my innocent, five year old way she helped me choose a little dish, which I paid for with some money she gave me and then my Mum let me carry it home to give to her as a surprise.
I remember too that, because I was trying to carry the bag with the dish in so carefully, I kept on dropping it. Not just once but several times. The more I tried not to drop it the more it happened so the dish became fragments of its former self.
I remember too that my Mum didn’t mind.
This year, for Mothers’ Day, I went down to my Mum’s grave to plant some flowers. As I arrived there something wasn’t quite right. Her grave was really waterlogged and all that was growing there was grass.
I started digging in the soil and came across what looked like giant, alien frogspawn. Mounds and mounds of it. Wherever I dug there it was.
And it was then that I remembered, during a dry patch last year, my brother and I had sprinkled water crystals into the earth so that the ground wouldn’t dry out. And I think we’d got a bit carried away and, instead of sprinkling just a few crystals to retain any water, we’d used the whole, super large packet.
Sometimes, when we care so much and try so hard to get it right, we get it wrong. But, if the intention’s from our heart and with love, I’m sure it doesn’t matter.
If you’re without your Mum this Mothers’ Day then I send you gentle wishes of love and happy memories.
And to my Mum, thank you for your gift of my wonderful life, and I’m very sorry about that broken dish and the alien frogspawn. Thank you for not minding.
Always in my heart, I love you xxx