Rhyming

Celebrating The Most Important Women In Our Lives

On the second Sunday of May, Mother’s Day, Mom’s Day, the day we celebrate motherhood and a time to appreciate all mothers. Without them, there would be no us, and that is a fact! Celebrating the women in our lives should not be relegated to a single day of the year.

The History Of Mother’s Day

Today’s holiday, as we know it, was first celebrated in 1907. Anna Maria Jarvis is credited as the founder of Mother’s Day in the United States. Before her mom passed away, her mother frequently expressed a desire to establish a holiday in honor of all moms. Following her mother’s death, Jarvis led the movement for the commemoration of a holiday celebrating moms.

It’s important to understand that Anna Jarvis wanted to honor mothers. She wanted a day set aside to honor them because she believed mothers are “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world.” Anna specifically noted that “Mother’s” should “be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.”

Hence we have a “Mother’s” and not “Mothers” day celebration.

What To Do On Mother’s Day

There are a million things you can do on Mother’s Day, picking the right opportunities to express your gratitude is the challenge. Of course, that does not mean you get to skip the pre-requisite: Mother’s Day card and Mother’s Day gift. No need to spend a ton; homemade is often the best, especially when you’re just a kid. Mom will treasure those homemade gifts all her life. No doubt you will probably find some, if not all, after her passing. With that being said, here are some things to do on Mother’s Day.

First and foremost, breakfast in bed is a must; moms love waking to their favorite morning meal while still in their jammies, with no makeup on…ugh! Do this in your early years, preteen for sure. Once you have a full-time job, mom will be looking for you to take her to her favorite restaurant for brunch; make sure you call ahead for a reservation. The last thing mom needs to do is wait in line for an hour on HER special day!

Next, why not explore the Great Outdoors. Depending on where you live and your mother’s age, there are a couple of ways to tackle this opportunity. If mom is young and spry as a spring chicken, you might want to take her on an exhilarating hike.

If she’s a bit older, a leisurely walk through a museum garden might be the perfect way to spend the afternoon. If mom is no longer mobile on her feet, then take a breathtaking drive and find an overlook for all to enjoy.

On the other hand, you could suggest tackling those mom’s To-Do lists, which could be never-ending, and something mom might not want to spend time working on, on her day off. Should there be a few minor items on the list that the family can complete with some direction from Her Majesty, then tackle away.

Before moms day comes to an end, gather the family, plop everyone down on a comfy couch and watch a movie. You might even want to watch a movie called Mother’s Day. If movies are not a mom’s thing, then maybe play a game or just sit back and chat.

One Day Is Never Enough

One day is not enough time to honor the most important person in our life. A day passes quickly and by the time we know it, our mom and their mom are gone from our lives.

Therefore, each day take some time to thank mom for all she does; tell her how important she is and remind her that you think of her often. Before you say goodbye or leave her, remember to say, I LOVE YOU and THANK YOU for all she does.

One More Book, One More Adventure

In celebration of Mother’s Day, Nuff decided to honor his mom and yours in his latest adventure Moms Are Amazing And Not Just On Mother’s Day. Roses are red, violets are blue, Moms are the sweetest, and always love you. Join Nuff on an adventure that celebrates moms through rhymes in time… Nuff said!

For my most up-to-date listing of my books visit my Nuff Said Stuff Books page. You can check out my Amazon Author Page and Goodreads Author Dashboard as well. All my books are available on Kindle Unlimited, and I often run free book promotions; you will only know about those if you Subscribe To Nuff’s Stuff.

When it comes to children’s books, nothing is better than a paperback edition. Buy one today (it helps us starving artists) and most of all, please leave a review when you have finished reading the book or books of your choice.

Thanks,
CK

Like most parents, mine got those alphabet magnet letters at my baby shower. You know, the ones you stick on the refrigerator that are supposed to help you learn your ABCs and to count 123? That also tastes really good when not thrown in every direction possible? Yep, those letters!

When I was about two I learned that it was easier to chew on and throw those letters across the kitchen than it was to spell anything. But like all great parents, mom and dad kept trying to get me to spell ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ and ‘Christine’ on the frig. However, I was more into spelling things like ‘gthqvzlp’ and ‘PZLU’ instead.

By the time I turned three the letters had moved their way up to the top of the refrigerator, no longer within my reach. I wonder why? Surely it had nothing to do with them being found all over the kitchen floor like the Tupperware bowls and lids? By the way, that cabinet door got a child lock on it before the one under the sink with all those dangerous chemicals in it. Thanks for thinking about my safety MOM, DAD!

Kids And Exercise A Walk Around The Block

Anyway, at this stage of my life, my parents thought I needed to exercise. No more being pushed in the baby buggy. Nope! Instead, it was time for me to walk around the block like the big folk. Of course, my little legs could not keep up with the long strides of my parents. By the end of our block, which was like only one-tenth of the way around the neighborhood, my little legs were exhausted. Or at least that’s what I wanted my folks to think.

Unfortunately, when you’re three-years-old, your parents are like Rocket Scientist. Dad wasn’t about to just carry me without doing something to earn my way up into his arms. You see, my persistent whining on wanting to be picked up on our walks was met with an equally challenging, “Why should I carry you?” from my dad. I tried logic, “I’m too heavy for mom.” He just laughed and said, “You’re too heavy for me too,” as he winked at me.

And that is how the letter and number game on our walks began. Dad told me that if I could read the letters on the street sign, not just some of them but all of them, that he would carry me until the next street. I said, “On your shoulders?” He said, “Yes!”

Of course, I failed. I was only three and hadn’t yet learned all my letters. I got a couple of the letters, but not all so there was no shoulder ride for me today. So it was on to the next street and next sign. Again I failed, getting some and missing others. This was way harder than it looked. Finally, halfway along our walk dad said that if I got three of the letters right on the next sign that he’d carry me. He could see that I was getting tired. Good thing there was an ‘A’ and a ‘B’ and a ‘C’ on the sign. I got three and I got hoisted up on my dad’s shoulders!

A couple of weeks into the summer and I was getting better at my letters, at least the common ones that were on all the signs in the neighborhood. But you see, my dad would sometimes pull a fast one and ask me to tell him the numbers on the houses. “WHAT?” He was sneaky. I was getting more letters right and he was getting more tired of carrying me, so he’d throw me a curveball now and then. Dad always said, “Life isn’t fair. Deal with it!”

The Set-up The Sting The Not So Fast

Deal with it I did. While dad was at work, I practiced more and more with mom and the letters on the refrigerator. Not just the letters, but I practiced the numbers too. By the end of July, I had all the letters A-Z and numbers 0-9 down cold. Mom knew because she had been helping me each day. But we kept it a secret from dad. The two of us were going to display my newfound intelligence on our next walk.

Like most summer nights we went for our walk after dinner. I was strutting my stuff out in front of my parents eagerly anticipating the street sign at the end of the block. When we got to it I looked up and read off every letter without hesitation, “’ P-O-R-T-S-M-O-U-T-H’ BAM CARRY ME!” I shouted. “You missed some,” dad said. “No way!” I said.

You see, some street signs have these extra little letters after the street name like ‘ST’ or ‘DR’ or ‘CT’ sometimes. Remember at this age, parents seem like Rocket Scientist. Dad was one of those and said I didn’t read “all” the letters. I had no idea I had to read the street, drive, and court letters too. It hadn’t been a requirement up until this point of summer. Lesson learned. Another one of those “deal with it” moments.

I now walked to the next street more determined than ever to read every letter on the sign, and I did! I even rattled off the house numbers as we walked. Having impressed my dad with my alphabet and number knowledge, he quickly hoisted me up high onto his shoulders and I proudly looked all around.

We hadn’t even reached the next street and I started reading the letters on the sign. Dad didn’t even challenge me; he just left me up on his shoulders and kept walking. We didn’t even stop at the rest of the street corners on the way home. I was reading the letters on each one as we approached, and he just kept on walking. I got carried the entire mile walk. It was so awesome.

Learning Letters And Numbers Isn’t Enough

Now that I was a letter and numbers wiz, I thought I was on easy street. I’d walk one block, read the letters ‘PORTSMOUTH DR’ each day and then ride my way around the block on dad’s shoulders. Nope, that wasn’t going to happen.

The next day we again took our family walk after dinner. As we came to the end of the block, I read the letters and said, “Up, please.” Remember that Rocket Scientist guy named dad? He looked down at me and said, “Don’t just read me the letters, read me the word on the sign.” I was F*CKED! By the way, that’s a word I didn’t know until the summer of fifth grade when one of my older friends told a joke and I didn’t laugh. Even after he explained it, I still didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. Fortunately, mom and dad explained that one to me on the way to college. I was a little naive, to say the least.

Even though I was now a letter and number wiz, I quickly learned that wasn’t the end of learning. My dad told me I had to learn more. I had to learn how to say the words that the letters made up. Learning to read was more than just knowing letters. That was a lot for a three-year-old to take in, but it’s not like I had anything else to do with the rest of my summer. And so the next lesson of learning began.

For the last month of summer, my parents helped me learn how to read all of the street signs in our neighborhood. Well, more like memorize the street signs. I can’t say I was reading them, because I couldn’t just read any street sign I came across. I got the letters right on the signs by grandma and grandpa’s house, but I had no clue what the signs said. Regardless, I still thought I was almost a Rocket Scientist like my dad. I was ‘reading’ the street signs in our neighborhood and that was pretty good for a kid my age, at least as far as I knew.

When it comes right down to it, the magnetic alphabet letters on the refrigerator where the beginning of how I learned my ABC’s and to count 123, but I’m fairly certain the summer of reading letters on street signs and being carried on my dad’s shoulders is what started my love of reading. I also think it’s why I was always a few reading grades ahead of others in my class, once I started school.

My parents knew the importance of starting me early on the road to reading. Mom helped me learn my letters and numbers, while dad pushed me to put the letters together to form words. And it wasn’t just street signs and house numbers that we did together. Mom and dad used to read to me at night before bed.

Kind of like my buddy Nuff and how his parents read to him before bed too. Check out my latest book Alphabet Stuff With Nuff that’s all about learning your ABCs and counting while you’re at it. Get your copy today and read it to your child at bedtime. Before you know it, you’ll both be counting your way through twenty-six letters and know all about Yellow Yaks and Zombies too!