What moms really want

Dinner for Mom
I would love for my two adult children (an 18-year-old daughter and a 22-year-old son) to cook dinner for me. My son is a fabulous, innovative cook and my daughter follows his directions very well and cleans up, too. I don't like them spending their money on me (they are in university), but dinner would be so appreciated.
-Monique Villeneuve

Something for the garden
I think a pretty little flowering annual for the garden would be nice, the kind you can get at the Canadian Tire greenhouse for a couple of dollars (and they last all summer)!
-Laurie Yates

The gift of time
I have shared my children's annual Mother's Day gift with other women and they all say, "Oh, I'd like that so much!" One woman at work told her children the day before that this was what she wanted and they all complied -- she was so pleased!

My children help out for the day. My boys, aged 22 and 24 (not boys, I guess!), tote, carry, mow, rake, trim, et cetera for the better part of a day (always quit while they're still enthused!). On Mother's Day here in Richmond, B.C., it's always planting time, and they tote the flats of annuals from the backyard to the front and help trim the hedge; sometimes we go shopping at the nurseries. Then we break for pizza about 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., and then a hug ends the day as they hurry back to their busy lives.

When your wee ones are no longer wee, sometimes it's just THEM you miss. Not the laundry, the empty pop bottles or the disgusting bedrooms, but just them. This way you talk, spend time together and just get to have them around for a while. This beats cards, flowers and chocolates (that land on my hips); and dinner out on this day is way too crowded and hassled. And I'll let you in on a secret...I pay for the pizza!
-Deb Brodie

Get out of the kitchen
I would like to do no meal preparations on Mother's Day. No grocery list, no "get ready," no "where is," no making breakfast, lunch or dinner. My daughter is away so the chance of this happening is slim! I guess I would settle for "thanks" and having dinner looked after.
-Jane Wasson

Breakfast in bed
Last year my two boys surprised me with toast and tea in bed! Complete with hugs from both of them. It made my day!
-Sonia Latter

Share the love
There are two thoughtful, inexpensive gifts I'd like to receive on Mother's Day. From my four-and-a-half-year-old daughter, I'd like one of her drawings that I can frame, and from my husband, I'd like a day of no cooking or cleaning. Oh, and lots of I-love-yous from them both!
-Conni Christensen

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