Mother's Day Ads are Killing Me!

Months ago my very smart and long time friend Gena decided that she and her husband wanted me with them for Mother’s Day.  So we planned a crazy little trip that included me going to Baton Rouge and us driving to Dallas to celebrate my friend Crysta’s impending 30th birthday.  (More on that trip at a later date.)

I’ve wondered for some time how I would feel on Mother’s Day.  Would being away from home, with people that are very much family to me help me through it without any incident, or would it still be hard?  


The other night I saw my very first Mother’s Day ad.  It kinda blindsided me. I didn’t realize what the ad was for until the end.  The story of the commercial was a Mother teaching her daughter to drive.  At the end the Mom is waiting in the passenger seat and as her daughter gets in the driver seat she flips down the visor to check her makeup and a card falls out.  I’m sure there is more to the commercial, but that’s all I remember because tears immediately began streaming down my face.

I never realized just how many commercials and other ads there are for Mother’s Day until they triggered tears.  Now I can’t hardly open Firefox without being bombarded by images of flowers and cards that I won’t be buying.  

As if Mother’s Day isn’t enough.... also coming up is a quick trip home to West Virginia.  I’ve been communicating with my Step Grandmother about going with them to put my Mom’s ashes at my Great Grandmother’s grave.  Only now am I finding myself with mixed emotions over the fact my Mom was cremated.  At the time I was asked if I had moral or spiritual objections.  Now it’s sinking in that IF I ever wanted to go “visit” her there’s not really a place.  I understand why we did what we did.  Everything happened so quick, she didn’t have any arrangements made.  It was winter and there was nowhere to put her and no money to buy a plot.  My one statement then was, “I don’t want her ashes.”  I still don’t.  I think it’s kinda creepy.  

I think the other part of it is this.... Placing her ashes at my Great Grandmother’s grave will kinda be the final goodbye.  Her memorial service was surreal.  No casket, just a picture of her from the early 90s.  (It is agreeably the best picture of her and how I still see her in my mind.)  There’s some level of closure that comes from seeing the casket at the grave site that I think gets lots in cremation.  Or maybe that’s just my own opinion because my Mom is the first person I’ve ever known to be cremated.  

This morning I read a post from a Columbus friend.  She said that tomorrow will be four years since her mother passed away.  It made me happy to know that the same friend that will help me through Mother’s Day will be with her tomorrow.  That made me cry too!