Today is Mother’s Day, 2012 and it’s been a very nice day. We had beautiful weather and a great brunch with our family and everyone had a great time. 

To be honest, I hate Mother’s Day, Father’s day, Valentines day, Memorial Day, etc. While that statement certainly makes me sound like a jerk, my reasoning is very simple: we should celebrate and care about the people who mean something to us every day, not just one day per year and we should do more than buy flowers, cards or other gifts. 

Last night in the grocery store I witnessed a couple arguing about Mother’s day. The argument ended when the wife said “do you realize how much your mother does for us all year”.  I didn’t know the couple but I found myself wondering if I do enough to appreciate the important people in my life. I know I say thank you a lot and I know I’m grateful when someone helps me or my family in some way, but I’m not so sure I do enough to express those thoughts to the people who need to hear them. 

I’m also pondering the ‘random acts of kindness’ cliche that we always hear. Maybe I could send someone a note or take them out to lunch or do something else to express my appreciation. I always feel that the once a year celebration is so inadequate and “too little, too late”. Was it enough to send my mom a card and gift card and to call and say “I love you”?  I’m sure she’d say it was too much (like mom’s always do).

My thinking isn’t just limited to moms as I could broaden it out to almost anyone with whom I have a relationship from my kids to my coworkers. Maybe this Mother’s Day will be the kick in the pants I need to better appreciate the people I value in my life.