Mother’s Day, now more than ever. They may not score the winning touch down, or hit the clutch home run, but without a doubt they still carry the water for the team. The 21st century has seen gains dramatic gains for females in politics, economics and education, but their role in the family continues pretty much the same, overburdened and under appreciated.
While Mother’s Day can do little to lighten the burden, without expanding to Mother’s Month, it is a day to rectify the burden of being under appreciated. Cards, flowers, and candy are some traditional ideas used by many to express their appreciation on this day, but perhaps they need some supplemental help. The woman credited with the establishment of Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis, lived long enough to see the holiday become very commercialized in the mid 1900s. She became not only disillusioned, but somewhat bitter, saying, “A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother — and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment!”
There is nothing wrong with a card, candy, or flowers, and The Journal offers a few other Think Local ideas towards the end of this article. Picking out a gift that symbolizes beauty, expresses insight, or shows sentiment is always appreciated more for the tenderness of thought than for the monetary value. A printed card, when chosen with consideration, often can expresses words we feel but cannot find. And now there are even e-cards that can be sent to the tech savy mother of today with animation, images and music used to capture that loving feeling.
To supplement all these worthwhile ideas, readers might also spend a little of their time. Not just shopping, visiting or cooking, but doing something that still holds magic, that still warms the heart on any occasion: take pen to paper and spend of few moments expressing appreciation in your own words. Nothing shows respect for another like the handwritten letter,no e-mail, no text message, no phone call will ever replace holding a letter, saving a letter, and occasionally pulling it out to read and live again. Perhaps it is a short note written inside the card, but those words, your words, can turn a $3 greeting card into a million dollar bond. Writing by hand slows your brain down, it makes you think reflectively, attaching emotion to words in ways we never fully realize. If writing has never been your forte, don’t fret or shy away. Mothers are often proudest when their children rise to the challenge, and sometimes speaking from the heart can be one of the greatest challenges. A few words to express appreciation for all the work and sacrifice, or the memory of a certain moment that you shared, will embody the belief upon which Mother’s Day was founded. 
But gifts are nice too providing a balance of the spiritual and the physical. Keep it close to home with an array of ideas. Take your old fashioned, handwritten letter and combine it with some snazzy 21st century technology from The Wireless Store in Boulder Run. They will be promoting the “working mom” or “busy mom” idea for mother’s day this year. Get mom a blackberry device and a bluetooth headset for Mother’s day and receive a 50% discount on the bluetooth (reg $80-$90) when you purchase both together. Plus get over a $200 discount off of retail prices on the blackberry of her choice with a new 2 year contract and blackberry data plan. Keep mom connected with her calendar, email, and phone calls while on the go in a completely “hands-free” environment. 
For more traditional gifts, take a peek in Oakland Drugs which is a gem of a gift shop with all the the traditional gifts mothers love. They offer one of the widest gift selections in the area with figurines, frames, perfumes, cards, beauty products, candles, novelties, glassware, ceramics, and the list goes on. Oakland Drugs, located across from The Copper Tree Mall, also offers a wide selection of greeting cards with plenty of space on them for you to add your own thoughts.
For a stylin’ mom, readers can check out Pop In Please in Franklin Lakes at the corner of Colonial and Franklin Ave . A boutique shop with gifty items, clothes, and fashion accessories are available along with a variety of eclectic items for today’s mom.
History of Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day in America was first promoted by Julia Ward Howe, author of “The Battle Hymn of The Republic”. Although the idea for Mother’s Day was first promoted by Julia Howe, it was the daughter of one of Ms. Howe’s contemporaries who took up the cause and made it a reality. In 1907, Anna Jarvis, a schoolteacher from Philadelphia, began writing letters to legislators and businessmen around the country asking them to recognize a special day for honoring mothers.
She was inspired in this endeavor by the work of her own mother, Anna Maria Reeves Jarvis, who engineered the first Mother’s Friendship Day. This was an event meant to bring together families and soldiers of different political beliefs as the Civil War was nearing an end in the summer of 1865 . Following in her mother’s footsteps, Ms. Jarvis’ efforts came to fruition in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the 2nd Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. “…. direct the government officials to display the United States flag on all government buildings and do invite the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”
The second Sunday in May was chosen to honor the anniversary of Ms. Jarvis’s mother, Anna Maria , who had died years earlier on that day. As the holiday became commercialized in the 1920s, Ms. Jarvis became disillusioned with her accomplishment. She is reported as saying, “A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother — and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment!” She spent the remaining years of her life working to have the true meaning of Mother’s Day returned to the public consciousness.