Imagine waking up Sunday morning. You get out of bed. Then you walk into the kitchen, begin to open the fridge door and notice the date on the calendar. It is Sunday, May 8. Mother’s Day. What is the problem? You forgot to do something special for your mom.

Before this problem actually happens to you, get your fix, two weeks in advance, by finding something meaningful for your mother or that special someone who has been a motherly figure to you.

Let’s first remember why Mother’s Day is important:

First of all, mothers actually go through the labor of having you. For nine months, it is the mother who carries the extra weight and then some after birth. She is the one person who can nurture you from conception on.

On a random spree to ask mothers and children what they think about Mother’s Day and why it is important, many replied by saying that just a simple acknowledgement a child can give to his or her mother.

“With my daughter, every day is like Mother’s Day because she makes me things all the time,” according to Kiiuasha David, who is a full-time student, member of the ASSC, and a working mother at the same time.

From another mother’s perspective, “Mother’s Day is a time to acknowledge being a mom and having a mom and all the things that go with that,” said Susan Switzer, who works with children in the Loma Chica School across the campus loop road from Skyline.

I realized one thing: mothers, regardless of their tribulations, love being mothers.

“Being a mother is the best thing in the world,” said Barbara Darra, a teacher’s assistant to Switzer. “I love to be a mom because there are different challenges in being a mother.”

Additionally, mothers do things for their children that others are not inclined to do. Honestly, who loves doing laundry for anyone but their mother?

“My mother cooks and does laundry for me, and I appreciate and thank my mom for that,” said Computer Science major Joshua Boado.

Get the drift of how important mothers are? They carry you for nine months, gain extra weight for you, they love being mothers and they do many things for you like cook and clean. It’s nice to do a little something special for your mom on May 8th, if you don’t already have something planned.

What can you do for your mother on Mother’s Day?

Make your mom feel special. Perhaps you can make her breakfast in bed on Sunday and do chores the whole day. In other words, give your mom a break. Do something that she wouldn’t mind not doing for a day: clean.

Skyline student Alissa Gee has made her mother breakfast and took her to dinner in the past. “I have also given her flowers and a card to make her feel extra special,” said Gee.

There are times mothers hint, intentionally or not, at the things they need, so pay attention to your mother’s needs and try to look at things that she likes but wouldn’t buy.

Along with flowers and a card Boado bought his mother a camera. Don’t let your younger age and therefore limited income get you down. Boado has “pitched in with his brother, sister and dad, to buy something for Mother’s Day.”

If you do not know what your mom is really into, get her something generally liked, for example, perfume, potpourri, or a certificate for a day at a spa, which I have to admit is a little pricey but worth the while.

However, Mother’s Day does not have to be an expensive day.

Be creative. You can make something that comes from your very own home. For example, find old pictures, photocopy them and make a collage that can be turned into a card. That can actually be more meaningful than a commercial holiday card.

Making something on your own shows that you put thought into what you are making.

“The best present is coming from the heart,” Darra said.

Those who are under time constraints can take the advice of Skyline student Vincent Yurtola. He mentioned that if he did not have money, he would just “say ‘Happy Mother’s Day,’ because it is important to acknowledge them and give them attention.”

The main point is that mothers just want to be recognized for what they do.

“I think it’s not so much about the gift, but to be acknowledged for being the best mom I could be,” Switzer explains, “and that they understand that I am there for them.”

If you have a present or a day planned for your mother, great. If you do not, however, don’t panic. Just remember, telling your mother she is special will be a gift that she will readily accept on May 8th, or any of the other 364 days in the year.