Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Time for our annual public service announcement, if you haven’t already heard: Sunday, May 14 is Mother’s Day. You’re welcome.

As we all get older, we appreciate our Moms more than ever. This is especially true if you’re a parent. Most of us have to be asking ourselves, “How did she ever put up with me?”

So we try our best to say thank you with flowers, gifts, and Sunday brunch. Mom always says she’s thrilled no matter what you do.

My mom instilled my love of art and nature. She’s my hero!

But there is another Mother we should remember on Mother’s Day: Mother Earth. Why not honor both? They both play vital roles in your life. My mom contributed heavily to my love of nature along with my appreciation for art. Notice how I combined the two? As a result, she gets nearly a dozen “used” orchids still in bloom, every month. And we have one of my favorite horticultural technicians, Kimberly Braddy providing her with outstanding indoor plant care.

Think about Mother Earth as a person, and wouldn’t she sound a lot like – Julia Roberts? She plays this role in one of a series of impressive videos produced by the organization Conservation International, a global nonprofit organization working to empower societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature, our global biodiversity, for the well-being of humanity.

This video inspired me to create a list of Mother’s Day celebration ideas for you to consider to honor both your own Mom and your Mother Earth.

1. If you take her out to eat, go to a restaurant using locally sourced/sustainable foods.
   Instead of dinner or maybe after going out to dinner, take your Mom for a walk in nature.
2. Make her dinner instead, and use veggies or herbs from your garden. If you aren’t growing any, start making plans for next year.
3. If your Mom is a gardener, offer to help her with some of the dirtier jobs or the ones that require some heavy lifting.
4. If Mom doesn’t have a garden, how about offering to plant one? Or create a kitchen herb garden or color bowl of flowers you can keep on a patio, balcony, or kitchen window.
5. Buy her a set of nice reusable grocery bags – it might not sound exciting but you use them at least once a week, and when you upgrade to really nice bags it makes a chore more of a pleasure.
6. Buy a house plant instead of cut flowers.
7. If only a wrapped gift will do, buy something made locally, without being shipped across the ocean or trucked across the country burning fossil fuels.
8. If your Mom is the kind of person who doesn’t need another gift, donate to an organization supporting sustainable practices or preservation of Mother Earth – from one Mother to another.

This is where I get my sense of humor and view of the world. Thanks, Mom – Happy Mother’s Day!

Whether or not the mom who taught you right from wrong and how to tie your shoes is still with you, you can still honor Mother Earth this Mother’s Day, the mother of us all. Happy Mother’s Day!