My Favorite Mother's Day Present...Ever!!!

More than two decades ago—when my daughter Sara was just three years old—I received a Mother’s Day gift that I will never forget. It wasn’t an expensive piece of jewelry, a gift certificate to a designer boutique, or a weekend at a beauty spa. No…it was a nondescript ceramic mug selected by my young daughter when her “daddy” took her shopping to buy me something special for that special Sunday.

My Daughter Sara at Three

My husband brought my daughter to a shop that sold kitchen utensils, dinnerware, and pottery. He suggested to Sara that a mug for my morning coffee might make a nice gift for her mommy. She looked at the racks of mugs, pointed to a beige mug with a brown handle that had some writing on it and said, “I want that one, Daddy.” My husband read the writing on the side of the mug and tried to turn her attention to other coffee mugs. He pointed out one with brightly colored fish. “No,” my daughter said as she pointed again to her first selection, “I want that one.” My husband then showed her a mug with pretty flowers painted on it. “How about this one?” he asked. “No, Daddy! I want that one!” My husband could not change my daughter’s mind about the gift she wanted to give Mommy.

And so, reluctantly, my husband took the beige mug from the shelf and brought it to the sales clerk who read the writing on the mug and looked at him reproachfully. “This is a Mother’s Day gift?” she asked him with an edge to her voice. “Yes,” he gulped. She shook her head.

On Mother’s Day 1983, I unwrapped my daughter’s present…and laughed…and laughed. Every time I look at that mug I laugh. Here’s a picture of it:

Here’s what the writing on the mug says in case you can’t read it in the picture:

My Mother
Always told me:
Son, you can’t buy
LOVE.
But she never told me
That I couldn’t
RENT it.

Is that too funny??? I think it is. And that’s the story of my favorite Mother’s Day present…ever!!! And here's a recent picture of my beautiful, funny daughter...who keeps me laughing.

Have you got any tales to tell about your favorite Mother’s Day gift?

OUT & ABOUT: May 12, 2007

Jules and Eisha have a wonderful interview with Grace Lin, one of my fellow Blue Rose Girls, at 7-Imp. You won’t want to miss seeing some of Grace’s beautiful artwork…and her self-portrait!

Susan has news about the Ezra Jack Keats Book Awards and the Jane Addams Children's Book Awards at Chicken Spaghetti.

Robin at A Fondness for Reading has a very touching post about her father who passed away thirteen years ago. In her post Footprints on the Sands of Time, she explains her father’s “Family History” project.

Vivian has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup at HipWriterMama. Note: A number of us bloggers posted poems for and about mothers especially for Mother’s Day.

Tricia challenges us to take a Geography Quiz at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

In her post The Film Is Up! , MotherReader has a link to the most recent film that was directed and edited by her husband and produced by MR. The film’s screenplay was written by author and blogger Robin Brande. Congratulations to this trio of talented individuals!

Check out the Children’s Literacy Round-Up: May 7 at Jen Robinson’s Book Page for some interesting reading.

POETRY FRIDAY: A Sonnet for My Mother

This is a special Poetry Friday post for my mother who was the eldest of four children of Polish immigrants who came to the United States in the early 20th Century. My mother, whose name is Mary…or Manya as her parents and siblings called her, has always been the kind of person to take care of others. She cared for her younger siblings when they were growing up. She pampered my father. She cared for her parents and mother-in-law in their elder years. She often babysat for my sister’s two daughters when they were young. And she helped to raise my daughter by taking over the responsibility of being her caregiver on school days when I returned to teaching after my much-too-brief maternity leave.

It’s hard to express to my mother how much she means to me. It's hard to thank her for the many kindnesses she has done for my family and me and for all the sacrifices she has made over the years. I do find that poetry can often express feelings and thoughts that can touch one’s inner soul and heart in ways that prose cannot.


Here is a sonnet for my mother for Mother’s Day 2007:

Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome
by Christina Rossetti

Sonnets are full of love, and this my tome
Has many sonnets: so here now shall be
One sonnet more, a love sonnet, from me
To her whose heart is my heart’s quiet home,
To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee
I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome;
Whose service is my special dignity,
And she my loadstar while I go and come
And so because you love me, and because
I love you, Mother, I have woven a wreath
Of rhymes wherewith to crown your honored name:
In you not fourscore years can dim the flame
Of love, whose blessed glow transcends the laws
Of time and change and mortal life and death.

My Mother with One of Her Great Grandsons

(Christmas 2002)

What Books Am I Reading?

Camille at Book Moot tagged me with a book meme: What books are you reading?


CHILDREN’S FICTION

I just began reading an ARC of Grace Lin’s second novel THE YEAR OF THE RAT, which is the sequel to her wonderful first novel for middle readers THE YEAR OF THE DOG.


PICTURE BOOKS
I picked up a batch of picture books the other day that I just read this morning.

WITH YOU ALWAYS, LITTLE MONDAY, which was written and illustrated by Genevieve Cote; WHAT A TREASURE!, by Jane and Will Hillenbrand; I’D REALLY LIKE TO EAT A CHILD, which was written by Sylviane Donnio and illustrated by Dorothee de Montfreid; MAMA’S SARIS, which was written by Pooja Makhijani and illustrated by Elena Gomez; and THAT RABBIT BELONGS TO EMILY BROWN, which was written by Cression Cowell and illustrated by Neal Layton.


CHILDREN”S POETRY BOOKS

I am reading HEY, YOU! POEMS TO SKYSCRAPERS, MOSQUITOES, AND OTHER FUN THINGS—with poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrations by Robert Rayevsky.


ADULT NONFICTION

My husband recently brought home two books for me that I have wanted to read: THE WILD TREES: A STORY OF PASSION AND DARING by Richard Preston and BLACKWATER: THE RISE OF THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL MERCENARY ARMY. I can't decide which one to read first.

Another nonfiction book I really want to read is THE RIVER WHERE AMERICA BEGAN: A JOURNEY ALONG THE JAMES by Bob Deans.


I tag Grace Lin of Pacyforest and Blue Rose Girls, Robin of A Fondness for Reading, Vivian of HipWriterMama, Kelly of Big A, little a, and Mary Lee and Franki of A Year of Reading.
(I would have tagged Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect--but she's too busy getting ready for her big adventure!)

China Memories, China Treasures

As Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect prepares to embark on her adventure to the other side of the Earth, my thoughts turn to a time in the autumn of 1994 when I had the happy experience of traveling to the People’s Republic of China with a Children’s Literature and Language Arts Delegation led by Professor William Teale. Two other teams, led by Dr. Junko Yokota and Dr. Mingshui Cai, joined our group on the journey.

It was a glorious adventure spent with other teachers, college professors, and a children’s author. Our team traveled to Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Shanghai. We visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall of China, the Ming Tombs, and the glorious gardens of Suzhou--among other historic and scenic places. We also visited children’s book publishing companies, elementary schools, and universities—and had roundtable discussions with fellow teachers, professors, and publishers. We even met some talented children’s book illustrators.

I wish I could relive that experience over and over again!

To Tricia: Have the time of your life, take lots of photos, and keep a journal so when you return you can tell us all about your time abroad. Oh...and spend lots of money buying beautiful things!!!

CHINA TREASURES

Here are pictures of just a few of the treasures I brought home with me from China…the absolute best treasures are memories of my days spent far from home.

Folk Art Paintings

An Exquisite Embroidery

Paper Cuttings

Bon Voyage, Tricia!