Things you can do for your mom

I would like my family to be a cohesive, functional unit. One where there’s few if any, animosity. No grudges. No outstanding issues or resentment. A potential source of conflict is when mom’s realize that they’re no longer part of your life. She knows you’re no longer a kid, but she still thinks you are one!

Once you’ve got a job, a boss, a partner… things just get lost in the daily grind. So I decided to make a commitment to making sure that important people in my life, like family for example, has its rightful place at the centre of my life so that in the years to come, the memories are sweet rather than bitter and not worth remembering. I came up with a list of things, I could do for my mom who had raised me and my brother up singlehandedly. These ideas are adaptable to other occasions such as Mother’s day or mom’s birthday but I wrote these things with the idea of institutionalizing them as a part of a life routine.

Talk to her, regularly.

Topics include: her ongoing feud and problems with her sister, colleague, identify her burdens and identify areas where I can be of most use to her. The idea is to keep her updated on your life. Send emails, pictures from overseas, etc.

Organize a spa treatment for her.

Mom’s need to feel special. I think it’ll be great if I can throw in a special Just for Mom pampering session. I think I’ll let my girlfriend figure this one out.

Agree to have a family dinner at least twice a month.

As my working life becomes more involved, it is more crucial than ever that I make an effort to make certain times sacrosanct and special.

Clean the fridge, sink, toilet and windows.

I think just by having someone do the dirty work around the house would be a welcome change.

Be Mister Fix-it! Give the bedroom walls a fresh coat of paint.

I always felt that the living room walls and ceiling were looking run down; I’ll kill two birds with one stone by painting the walls and use the lessons learnt to make another blog entry about how to paint walls!

Schedule a day in a week to help her do the groceries.

Once a week, my mom likes going to the supermarket to buy the week’s worth of groceries. Instead of sleeping in on Saturday, I could sacrifice and make the effort of helping her lug it back home on her behalf instead.

Set and show her your work and life schedule.

As I age, my life has taken on a certain pattern: Work, Girlfriend and then Family. I thought it would be illuminative to show her my packed schedule and show how I intent to fit her life into my life so that she doesn’t feel left out.

Eat dinner at home with her at least twice a week: once on a week day and once on a weekend.

My mom has always been in-charge of preparing meals. Since I left for work overseas, she doesn’t have to do that for me. Giving her a chance to prepare home cook meals and feeding her boys makes her feel special again. (Well, at the very least, it’s a free dinner!)

Make lunch for her.

This one’s pretty easy. It just takes a little bit of effort and planning. Pasta’s are easy. And if you really really want to impress and make a day of it, learn to make bread.