Sweetest Unforgettable Mother’s Day Gift Story

Happy Mother’s Day! You know, there are so many types of moms. The first aid kit on standby mom, candy at the bottom of the purse mom, Tik Tok mom, non-stop mom, snack mom, hot mess mom, overprotective mom, cool mom, perfect manicure mom, jazzercise mom, and the list goes on and on.

My mother was a combination of an overprotective mom, penny-pinching mom, arts & crafts mom, entertaining mom, and loving mom. My birthday parties (on a budget) were always top-notch. I get my ability to entertain guests in my home from my mother. Saving money and investing is because of my mother; she was a penny pincher for sure. Her mantra was, “you should save for a rainy day and season.”

Thinking about my mother, she rarely treated herself to anything special because it “costs too much.” She was born in 1931. Raised on a farm during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. I truly believe that affected her and the way she lived her life.

Growing up, we didn’t have a washer or dryer. So, it was a laundry mat for us until I convinced my Dad that a great Mother’s day present would be a washing machine. (We hung all our clothes to dry to save money). Once everyone went to bed, Bud got up and installed the washer in the carport.

Mother’s Day morning, Dad pretended to work on a project and asked Bea to go to the utility room to grab a hammer. We then rushed over to the window to watch her open to the doors. We saw her go in and then step back out; we could see the tears rolling down her face. Dad looked at me with a huge smile, and said “great gift idea, she loves it.”

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It may not have been roses, perfume, or jewelry, but it was something that mother wanted for a long time but never said anything because of the cost. I have no idea how much the price of a washer was in the 80s, but it was a luxury item for my family. Who knows how long my Dad had to save for a washer or how many cars he painted on the side. He did what he had to do to make his woman happy. That’s love in my book.

LOOK: Milestones in women's history from the year you were born

Women have left marks on everything from entertainment and music to space exploration, athletics, and technology. Each passing year and new milestone makes it clear both how recent this history-making is in relation to the rest of the country, as well as how far we still need to go. The resulting timeline shows that women are constantly making history worthy of best-selling biographies and classroom textbooks; someone just needs to write about them.

Scroll through to find out when women in the U.S. and around the world won rights, the names of women who shattered the glass ceiling, and which country's women banded together to end a civil war.

Filed Under: Featured, Mom, Mother, Mother's Day

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