Who's Your Mommy?

I am the mother of one daughter, but over the years I've added more children along the way....or should I say they adopted me as their "other "mom."  It seems that I am part of a new trend for millennials who declare that they have more than one person they think of as a mother figure.  

According to a recent survey conducted by Edible Arrangements®, although millennials consider their mother to be their primary mother figure (87%), they are more likely to have more "other mothers" than older generations.  Meanwhile,  44% of Americans ages 18 to 54 have three or more mother figures in their lives, and one in five (20%) say they have five or more. Of the "other mother" figures, friends account for  36%; while grandmothers and mothers-in-laws are tied at 22%.

What wasn't revealed by Edible Arrangements® in this survey are some of the reasons WHY someone would look to another person as a mother figure.  

Here's a perspective from Don Smithmeier:

It’s not about them being better or worse than our mothers, it’s the fact that they are different and that they are additive. The only thing greater than having a mom is having a Second Mom, too. What a gift.

Second Moms show us another version of parenting. Whether it’s the way they enforce the rules, the way they speak to their kids and spouse, or even the way they make their grilled cheese sandwiches, it’s all just different than our First Mom.

Second Moms give a second set of ears and eyes and arms. They teach us. They nurture us.

I, too, have a woman I look at as my second mother.  Although she already had six children of her own, she took me in and treated me as child #7.  She helped nurture me and even scolded me---all in the name of LOVE.

Happy Mother's Day Mama Jackson!

Who's your second mommy?

Given how many "other mothers" people identify and in honor of the important roles they play, Edible® is offering Buy 2 Get 1 Free box and arrangement deals for Mother's Day.

A Baby Boomer Diva's Guide to Shopping for Mother's Day

As long as I can remember, Mother's Day has always been the second Sunday in May. It's one of those holidays where the DATE might change but the time of the month NEVER does. Since this is a well known fact, why is it that people choose to wait until "D" day to go out and buy Mother's Day gifts and cards?

I was one of those people. I went to Wal-Mart today to try to find a nice little gift for my mother-in-law. I didn't want to get her anything too fancy because she would just end up hiding it---never to be found again (she has Alzheimer's). I thought flowers would be a nice touch. It would brighten up her bedroom and maybe trigger some memories back to the time when she used to care for the flowers in her own garden. Well, that was a bad idea. Everybody in the world was obviously thinking the SAME thing. The flower buckets were nearly wiped out. I had to be creative and try to mix and match flowers---without getting caught.

Then I went over to the card section. You would think Wal-Mart was having some kind of special on cards. The racks were empty. The only few cards I saw were some that had June Clever on the front and that just wasn't going to work for my mother-in-law. She may have had a June Clever like image back in the day---but the card company could've at least had the decency to make another June Clever image look more "soulful."

I figured I might have better luck at the dollar store down the street from my house so I went there. It was also JAM PACKED with people purchasing Mother's Day items. It was CRAZY! While I was in the store I had to play mom to someone else's children because they were getting out of line.

So what did I learn today?

1) If you have to wait until the last minute, don't shop. Give the gift after the fact. It'll mean more.

2) Buy silk flowers instead---even if the price is jacked up. They last forever.

3) Shop around for cards that fit the "image" you're looking for. June Clever ain't it and neither is "Florida" from Good Times.

4) A mother is a 24/7 job--no matter whose children they are!

Mother's Day Contest Update

What a difference 24 hours makes! Since announcing the contest, I've had several sponsors offer to donate a prize. So now it gets interesting because you know what they say: The better the prizes...the better the competition.

First Place: $50 Cash, Bath & Body Works Spa Pkg (Tracy Ehman), Never be Sick Again by Raymond Francis ; 30 minute Radio Interview on Heal Yourself Talk Radio with Rebecca White; :30 promotional ad on Beverly Mahone’s podcast “Whatever!” for your business or product; ***This is a great opportunity for self-promotion***
“Delayed but not Denied” Gospel CD by Jennifer Evans (www.jenniferevans7.com)

Second: My Little Taste of Italy Gift Basket (www.mylittletasteofitaly.com), Bella Bath & Body Bar and Neways Products offered by Tracy Lewis; autographed copy of Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age by Beverly Mahone (www.thebabyboomerdiva.com) & “Chill 2 This” Inspirational Jazz CD from Michael Houston. www.myspace.com/houstown

Third: Gano Excel Coffee Gift Basket donated by Tally Green, Mothers are Forever book by Criswell Freeman donated by www.EdenFlorist.com--our motto is "Make Someone Smile Today, Send Flowers!" (Heidi Richards, owner); Blockbuster Gift Card

Fourth: Twenty minute coaching session with Doris Helge, author of Joy on the Job (www.joyonthejob.info); autographed copy of “Delayed but not Denied” Gospel CD from Jennifer Evans (www.jenniferevans7.com); God can Handle Mothers by Carlene Ward donated by: Eden Florist - http://www.EdenFlorist.com - our motto is "Make Someone Smile Today, Send Flowers!" (Heidi Richards, owner)

Fifth: One hour of free Virtual Assistant Services plus 20 percent off on all products thru May 15 from www.KeyBusinessPartners.com and Teresa Morrow; Back to the Table with my Country Kitchen cookbook by Betty Lynch (www.bettylynch.biz).

Contest open to men and women because we know there were some hard-headed little boys growing up too!

See previous blog entry for contest details.