By KRYSTEN MANUEL
MOTHERS. We’ve all said we can’t live with them at one time or another, but it’s attempting to live without them that demonstrates just how important they are in our lives.
Many of us won’t have the opportunity to give our mothers a bunch of flowers, make them a meal or, in my case, give her a box of Cadbury Roses this Mother’s Day, but it doesn’t mean the day should go unmarked.
We all have our Mother’s Day traditions. Some mums like the annual gifting of sleepwear, water bottles and bed socks as the cooler months loom, some are treated to a fancy lunch or dinner, and some just enjoy the excuse to indulge in chocolate.
For me, and for as long as I can remember, every Mother’s Day was marked with Cadbury Roses. In recent years I even stopped wrapping them because every year, without fail, I would give my mother a big box of Cadbury Roses and every year, without fail, she would graciously give me a kiss and a hug, thank me and open up the box to offer me one (knowing I would always go for her favourite one – strawberry cream).
One particular year is burned in my memory, when my brazen younger sister dared to give MY mum Cadbury Roses. After a screaming showdown from yours truly, mum – in her super-human diplomatic way – quietly took her aside and explained that while she was grateful for the gift, “Cadbury Roses is a me and Krysten thing.”
Ironically, Cadbury Roses were the last thing I ever gave my mother.
But this year I will still head down to Coles and purchase a nice big box of Cadbury Roses – don’t worry, I’m not going to leave a perfectly good box of chocolates in a cemetery! I will proceed to wrap them up, write a special message on a flowery card, and send them to my grandmother.
We all have mothers, whether they be with us or not, therefore we should all mark Mother’s Day with a thought for our mums and a kind gesture to the wonderful women in our lives.
