It's Mother's Day, Have You Thought About What You're Doing for Your Mom Today?

Mother's Day has gotten to be a commercial holiday like Christmas or Easter. But, I think a lot of people don't realize exactly what they should do for Mother's Day. Let me give you a hint, flowers aren't going to cut it. And, taking Mom out to a fancy restaurant may not be the best way to go either.

In my family, we didn't always have a lot of money, but I learned to celebrate Mother's Day the best way I could...by giving gifts from the heart.

What am I doing for Mom this year? Well, for starters, I'm making her a huge dish of Southern Macaroni & Cheese. This may sound silly to you, but my mom loves the way I make it, and it's the one gift I can give her that she can't get anywhere else in the world.

And, instead of buying a generic greeting card, I wrote my Mom the following letter:

Mom,

This year for Mother's Day, I want to say "Thank You." There are so many things I have to thank you for, and to be thankful for, that I just didn't think a Hallmark greeting card could possibly sum it all up. I want to thank you for making sure that I was the sharpest dressed kid in kindergarten, even though years later the idea of plaid pants and a green turtleneck embarrasses me horribly. I want to thank you for all the trips to the toy store and to Rennigers so that I always had the best superhero toys to play with. I want to thank you for Christmas you stayed up all night putting together my G.I. Joe Command Center because it was the year Dad left and you wanted it to be the best Christmas ever.

I want to thank you for all the hours you spent working and all the things you gave up so that I had everything I could possibly want. I want to thank you for kicking my butt all the way through school and making me sweat every single report card so I learned as much as I could. I also want to thank you for knowing when I needed a break and all those days you let me stay home sick even though you knew I was faking it. I want to thank you for making sure I had the perfect class ring when I graduated and the best graduation party ever.