Mother’s Day Lavender Honey Giveaway!
I’ll be the first to admit that I had some pretty ugly teenage years.
Sure. I had awkward limbs, a face full of acne, and was otherwise unfortunate looking, but I’m talking about what an utter brat I was for a solid two (plus) years.
Did you go through some seriously bratty years? Just say yes. We’ve all been there, right? If you try to tell me you were a perfect angel, I just won’t believe you.
I seem to remember the distinct feeling that I knew everything there was to know about the world at the ripe old age of fifteen. I thought most everything was beyond “annoying”, and I used that word… to death. If eye rolling were an Olympic sport… gold medal… me.
I also had this obnoxious habit of assuming that everything that belonged to my mother, somehow also belonged to me. From her favorite stationary, to her hidden stash of chocolates and the entire contents of her jewelry box, I acted as though it was all up for grabs. Terrible, right? Only when I was out in the world trying to save up my pennies to buy myself a nice box of tea, or my favorite rose lotion, did I realize that my mom deserved to have her treats without my mittens all up in them.
While I can take my obnoxious teenage years back, I suppose my real penance will come when my own teenage daughter pillages my valuables. Until that joyous time, here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to give one of you a jar of beautiful French Lavender Honey.
Leave me a comment in this post and tell me this:
Tell me how your mom is spectacular, despite your possible teenage indiscretions.
I know a lot of you are moms, tell me what makes it all worthwhile.
I’d really like for this lovely honey to go to a Mom… it is, after all, Mother’s Day. Maybe that means you’re a hard working Mom and need a tea and toast break. Maybe that means you win this honey and give it to your Mom as a “thanks for being awesome” gift.
Comments close Thursday at midnight Pacific Standard Time and the winner will be chosen by the Random Number Generator. Happy Mother’s Day!
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My mom definitely did the whole working-mother thing. Even though she worked full time, there was always dinner on the table which I’m impressed even more by now that I’m on my own and often have trouble coming home from work and just making dinner for myself!
I came across your website not too long ago and I’m so glad I did. I figured I’d give this a shot.
Growing up, my mom and I always had a difficult relationship, and one day we just stopped the fighting a few years ago and ever since then we have become SO incredibly close. I realize now how much time we wasted and am so thankful for the relationship we have. I wake up everyday and the first thing I do is run downstairs to see her. And one of the things we’re trying to learn to do together is ::drumroll please:: baking! She’s the most wonderful cook, but never took an interest in baking, and we are learning together. She is my best friend, and I Iove her more than anything else in the world. One of the presents I made her last year for the holidays was a simple message on paper: I love you, and she carries it around in her purse all the time. It makes her so happy, and knowing your mom is happy is the best thing ever!
Like so many, my mom went without so my sisters and I would not have to. She hardly every splurged on herself, but we had nice clothes and participated in the activities that we wanted to. How did I repay her? I was a huge pain in the rear end a lot of the time. She has definately earned her stars.
My mother always is willing to listen when I have a problem or a question, whether it’s complaining about my job, or boyfriends, or the weather. She has taught me everything I know, and never tires of taking care of our family. I would love to give her some of this honey!
How can I even begin to explain how my mother is awesome? She is a great friend, an artist, wonderfully creative, has super human patience, taught me to be polite by example and always made all her daughters feel equally special.
I’m not a mother – yet. I’ve been trying for two years and hopefully by next year my dream of being a mother will finally come true. Hoping, praying, wishing.
My mother is the most incredible mother out there. I know, I’m sorry y’all think your mothers are, but I’m not kidding. =)
She’s incredible because a) her husband died when she had a little girl & a baby to take care of, b) she still worked full time and managed to raise us semi-normal =), and c) she still works and takes care of her daughters as much as she can even though she is ill and disabled. She is a marvelous woman!
My mom always makes me laugh. She is like the sister I never had. :)
My mom is spectacular because she somehow survived the 4 of us (girl-boy-girl-boy), and still has her quirky and irrepressable sense of humor and most of her sanity intact.
Oh my, I get to brag about my mommy! Yay! Let’s be honest: I am the bratty teenager- right now. From the jewelry stealing (though it works both ways) to complaining about how “awkward” the things she does are. But really, my mom’s pretty much the best. Down to earth, and lovely, and self-sacrificing. I can not believe the things she put up with from my sister and me and all that life (see Russia in the 80′s-90′s) threw her way. And of course, my mommy’s beautiful, and a great cook (though I do demand an expanded repertoire). I think she fits perfectly what a woman should be- intelligent and independent, caring and loving, feminine and peaceful. Somehow she made both my sister (complete rebel tomboy, totally anti-marriage) and myself both want to be just like her. Hopefully in a good decade or so I’ll get to write from the mother’s perspective, because you know: kids are just life (even us bratty teenagers). <3 You Joy, my mommy, and mother’s day in general. Happy mother’s day to all the great mommies out there- keep doing what you do and remember we always love you, despite what we say.
Growing up, my mom did not want my sister and I to be in daycare, yet our family couldn’t make it on my dad’s small income. Even though it meant round-the-clock work for her, my mom raised my sister and I during the day and then went to work in the evening when my dad came home. She made this sacrifice until we were both in school, and still somehow found time to come to every soccer game, bake cookies from scratch with us, sing duets in the church talent show. My mom made something out of nothing, found joy in the everyday, and filled my heart with laughter along the way. I love you mom!
My mother is, and has always been, my solid rock that I’ve come screaming to for comfort. Even through my irritating adolescent years, which must have been dealt with sheer exasperation, she has supported me through whatever ridiculous dreams I have conjured up, and stayed with open arms when things didn’t turn out the way I would have liked. She is the strongest, most patient, generous, kind being I know.
Where to begin on the awesomeness of my mom? She raised my recalcitrant, bipolar sister with unfathomable amounts of love when all that was returned to her was hate, disrespect and sarcasm, and she now has spent the last 11 years raising my sister’s equally challenging daughter who is now an equally recalcitrant teenager with Asperger’s. It has been the definition of thankless work and yet she has done it with unfathomable amounts of love and optimism. As if that weren’t enough, she spent the few years in between raising my sister and her daughter helping me as I struggled through an almost life-ending eating disorder. During my college years she sat by my bed at night to make sure I was still breathing, supported me when I dropped out of school to go into hospital and then finally moved 10 hours from her home to help support me when I went back to college after said stint in the hospital. And then she thanked ME when I graduated for giving her the opportunity to live in a different place and be a part of my life. I am full of love and admiration for her every day, and I truly owe my life to her and my dad.
I am a mom myself now too (a real miracle, given the above info) and I just hope every day that I will be able to love my son as selflessly and fully as my mother has loved me.
And hey Sara (post number 2)….my uncle was in What’s Up Doc…he played Mr. Larabie. Great great movie!
my mama is spectacular because she loves and supports me unconditionally…even during my “bratty” phase (which just so happens to be now in my early 20′s, lucky her). Also, she has this freaky ability to know exactly what I’m thinking and how I’m feeling, its like her “SuperMom” superpower.
*she also taught me to cook to which I am eternally thankful :)
my mum was fab!! she has matured so much as a mum. i was a VERY rebellious kid.. coming back drunk at the age of 15, getting into trouble in school and with the police all the time!!! and she just trusted God and let go, quit nagging, loved despite everything and was just there when i needed her.. never giving up hope and never judging..
she’s a real gem..
i owe my life to her… she brought me and my brother up almost singlehandedly cos my father was working overseas.. and even now that he’s into early retirement, she’s still working to put me through uni and making sure that we have everything we need.. she’s a real gem..
i wanna get a job right after i graduate so she can retire..
and i think that bottle of lavender honey will be much needed by her to sweeten her life!! plsplspls joy?
by the way, your blog’s like my bible, i read it everyday! in between assignments, in bed, when i first wake up.. if only i read my bible that often.. :)
My mom is utterly amazing. She sacrifices so much for me to have so much. I have two bipolar siblings. They were diagnosed young at a time when juvenile bipolar was not well known or well accepted. Thankfully she did accept it. Without her constant love and support, I could not survive the insanity in my household. We are not just mother-daughter. We are friends. I can tell her everything. Best of all she reminds me that I am 19, not 40. I need to live life and feel love. I wish that I could give her something she deserves for mother’s day, a break, but she would not accept it. Should I ever have children, I know that thanks to her I have a beautiful model in my life for a mother who can be loving and caring while still maintaining a sense of authority. Right now she is the most important person in my life.
My mom always seemed to know that when I was at my worst, she needed to love me the most.
I am not a mom (yet) and I’ve already lined up a present for my own mom for Mother’s Day (funny enough, it’s fancy tea and a jar of creamed honey), so I am not going to participate, but I just wanted to give a shout out to all the moms out there. It’s the hardest job in the world and you are all amazing for doing it. My mom is — I can’t really find the words. She’s one of a kind wonderful.
my mother and i, oh, my mother and i… lets talk about the most tumultuous relationship to date. the most frightening thing about people who are exactly alike is their assumption that no one can be just like them and there choice to ignore likenesses. once i realized my mother and i were the exact same person, i realized it was beyond frightening to have a replica of my own actions. i began to ignore it and consider it opposition. the tension of this opposition grew and grew. by the time it climaxed, the hatred grew into throwing quiznos drinks at each other in the front yard. it doesnt make sense to the external bystander, but im sure it will. because eventually, past the tender age of 14, i found the good in someone i could relate to. it all fell into place and it made sense to have a predecessor that could explain your faults before you got to them.
i love my mother and i want that honey.
ok.
My mom risked her life leaving Viet Nam on a boat so that my sister and I could grow up happy and free in America. In my eyes, leaving the only kind of life she had ever known to one in which she worked 12+ days just to feed us shows me the unconditional love of a mother.
thank you!
Oh my goodness. Where do I begin? I was such a hellion my mother thought moving to another state would fix me. Wrong. And I do believe that’s all I’m going to say about that.
I would, however, love to give this fantastic treat to my wonderful mother, whostill loves me despite my teenage years. (She loves you too by the way!)
Ev
My mom, while she doesn’t have Giselle’s body, you would never know it. She doesn’t dress inappropriately or anything, but I have never heard her once in her life complain about the way she looks. It’s very uplifting. She has the best body image of anyone I know of.
Did you know we celebrate Mother’s Day on a different day over here across the pond in the UK? I didn’t until I read you post and distinctly remembered already doing the Mother’s Day thang back in March. After contemplating the possibility that I’ve finally gone totally insane (a very real possibility thanks to the dissertation I’m writing) Wikipedia came to the rescue…. and voila! Amazing… I know.
Nonetheless, my mum is super so cool because she knows how much I love honey and buys me special local varieties as random presents… without me ever asking. What a legend. And how cool would it be if i turned up with a jar for her in return… without her asking, and not on Mother’s Day?! Pretty cool. Oh yes. xx
I lost my mom to cancer over 10 years ago. I still miss her very much. I think my mom kinda wished I’d been a hellion instead of the brooding teen she had in me, but she had my brother to fill that role for her. She could have told you all about the challenges of each, but his challenges left better stories in their wake.
Now my step-mother fills the role of lynchpin in our family. She keeps us communicating, coming home for family events, and in the know about what’s going on. She’s a kind, elegant, thoughtful woman who has brought two families together. She’d also love lavender honey.
My mom will make everyone else a sandwich before she makes hers, will drink regular or decaf coffee depending on what other people want. She’s always doing little considerate things that really make other people feel special – not because she has to, or at her own peril, but because she finds joy in doing these things.
A lot of people say that they have the best mother in the world, but I can say without a doubt in my mind that I really do! I was never a bad, rebellious kid…in part because my mom is one of those quiet types that you just don’t WANT to get mad…and also in part because she worked in my high school office, so if I ever had gotten in trouble, I would of had to of walked past her on my way to the principal’s office! My mom is one of the strongest women that I know. The year I was born, she watched my father fight cancer, which ended in one of his arms being amputated. While raising four young kids, she also helped him emotionally and physically get well. When I was about 6, one of my brothers was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease. I know she struggled with her own guilt of “giving” him the disease, but forced herself to put that aside to give him the best care she could. She has raised thousands of dollars for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and just in the two years has organized walks that have raised about $20,000. One of those walks was held just a few days after my grandmother, whom my mom was the caretaker of, passed away. She wouldn’t let herself grieve until the walk was all over and everyone else was taken care of. Right now, though, I really look at my mom as being one of the most selfless people I know. My brother is now 34, and this year his health declined dramatically. His only option to live is to have a double lung transplant. He, my mom and dad moved from NY to NC to wait for an available donor (he is at the top of the list and has to be right near the hospital.) She has put her entire life on hold…work, family, friends, church…everything… to sit and wait with him, and has been put back into the situation of having to take care of one of her children again, something she has not had to do for several years. It’s something any mother would do for her child, but not many of us are ever actually put in that situation. They have already been down there for a few months, and although the wait is getting harder, she continues to be upbeat and have her faith. She is truly an incredible person. I was so lucky to have grown up with her as an example, and I hope that now that I’m a mom of two daughters, that I can give them the same love and support that she has always given to me.
My mother had a very difficult upbringing and she managed to overcome it.
I am a mother to a 3 year old daughter and it is worth it every day to let her know how loved she is.
Sara
my mom is just simply amazing, plain as day! I couldn’t have gotten through my teenage years with out her and now she is my best friend!
What makes my mom spectacular is that she lives life on her own terms, everyone else be damned. While it drives me crazy at times, I secretly wish I had her outlook on life! I am a mother of three. The moment when I realized it was all worth it was one night, in the middle of the night, when my then 3-year-old son woke up and wanted to be held for awhile. As we sat there on the couch, I was lamenting to myself the injustice of never getting a full night’s sleep, when he took my face in his two hands, looked into my eyes, and whispered “You’re the best mother I’ve ever seen.” It was a moment I’ll never forget.
My mother taught my brother and I that we can do anything! I’ve always believed that I could accomplish everything I set my mind to. My mother is about to become a grandmother for the very first time and I pray she continues to help instill that mindset in her grandchildren.
What makes being a mom worthwhile?
While driving, my 5 year old likes to play quiz.
SON: “Mommy! what’s 2+3 ?”
ME: “It’s 5.”
SON: “Mmmm, lemme check.”
Then I can here him quietly counting on his fingers.
SON: “You are correct! You get one point!”
I can’t help but think he is SO worth every second of the the 17 hours of labor!
My mom was mentally ill and I basically fended for our family. Because she was not capable of handling stress and other issues – I had to be strong, take on responsibility and care for others. I have a 24 year old son and an almost 5 year old son. My five year old has an autistic disorder – without all the strengths I had to learn from my mother – I would not be the mom I am today. I love your site.
Does stepmother count??? My own mother made THE most wonderful honey wheat bread. We would come home from school at the end of the day and there would be 8 loaves of bread, couple of pans of rolls and no less than 12 dozen cookies all spread out on the table. I don’t know how she did it and raise five children, too! Today, she still makes me laugh and also jealous of all the energy she has to spread around.
My mother had esophageal cancer and beat it into remission during the first round of chemo. Chemo was her only option, as doctors decided they could not operate on the tumor or give her radiation treatment. No matter how sick she got or how many times we took her to the hospital, being a proper southern woman, she always insisted on fixing her hair and putting on some lipstick!
My mum brought us up after dad walked out on us when my sis and I were toddlers. What amazed me was how she always told us about how much dad loved us though it was painful for her and we would find her crying secretly in her room. All these years, I’ve been able to go through life confident and secure because I know that mum loves me no matter what I do.
p.s. I love your site too. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
I’m 26 years old…and my mom still sends me care packages with the same little notes she used to put in my lunch box. Now that’s spectacular. Now if only she could track down those Care Bear stickers again…. :)
My mom always accepted us and the phases we went through without question. She never judged or complained about neon clothes, green hair, Doc Marten’s or Frankie saying “Relax”!
My son will be 2 in August and my favorite “this is all worth it” moment is always when I pick him up from daycare or Grandma’s and here him say “Momma!” with a huge smile on his face. Melts my heart everytime.
Thanks for another great giveaway.
My mom is wonderful because she gave up having a life to be able to stay at home and take care of my Nana (her mom) for the last few years of her life. Nana came to live with us when I was 1 and was like a second mom to me. However in the last few years Nana’s health slowly spiraled down and the last thing my Mom would do was put her in a home. She made so many sacrifices for my Nana and I love her for it.
My mom would do anything for her kids and gave me the best advice when i needed it. I miss her everyday
being a mom truly is the hardest job ever! I have a very busy 2 year old and my Mom raised 5 kids, I cant imagine how hard THAT was!
My mom is awesome. She has an ability to be there for you without knowing first what is wrong. She loves so unconditionally and completely that she often appears naive; I think more people should be like her, me included.
Being a mom is better than I ever imagined, and I imagined it for a long time. The smile I get, sometimes coupled with a spontaneous kiss and hug, make dealing with the tantrums and middle-of-the-night awakenings worth while.
I would love for my sons first taste of honey to be something extraordinary, which this promises to be : )
I think that all mothers who make the decision to be the best mother they CAN BE are wonderful and deserve much praise and respect. My mom was just that and I love her for it. I see myself becoming like her in many ways and I embrace it.
My mom is amazing. She has always been there for me. No words can do her justice! This would make a fantastic mother’s day gift.
What makes it all worthwhile, from this Mom’s POV, is seeing my children happy and knowing that I’ve raised these two beautiful people who bring joy to my life (and others’ as well) each and every day. And the sweetest honey in the pot, if you will, is my wonderful grandson and the eager anticipation of grandchild # 2 who is due to debut any day now.
My mom loves everyone, and always sees the best in people. She is a great mom, wife AND leader in her profession. Not many women can truly earn that.
I have 3 beautiful children who’s smiles, hugs and kisses at the end of a busy work day make my sacrifices as a working mom all worth while. My mom and mom-in-law take turns caring for the kids after school until my husband and I get home from work. Knowing that my kids are being cared for by their grandmas always keeps my mind at ease when I can not be with them.
Deep down in my heart, I know my mother is my best friend. When I went away for college, I was extremely homesick. I would call my mom every night, and talking to her was the only thing that made me feel better. I feel awful for the times when I was a brat and I try to make up for it as much as I can now.
I love my mom. She learned how to text so she could keep in touch with me when I asked her to stop writing me notes on my lunch bag. (I know, I know, I’m a bratty teen) We cook (and bake!) together every month or so and go jogging together every morning. She gave up so many things just to be there for me, and what better way to say thank you than a nice cup of lavender honey tea?
i know that motherhood is worthwhile, because, even though mothers are sometimes the “forgotten” one during the year, just to look at a sleeping baby who smiles during their nap makes it so.
My mom is the best! She raised 8 children and somehow taught us all how to cook, clean, tend a garden, and be great parents to our own kids. She is the best example of how to serve people in need and make it look like it is the easiest thing.
I just discovered your blog. It’s terrific!
My mother and I have a really interesting relationship. She was a professional ballet dancer, and now I’m in training to be one. She’s my ballet teacher, my mother, and one of my best friends. She’s never forced me into choosing her career path, instead letting me choose my way for myself. She’s supportive with everything I do, offering advice, listening when I’m upset, and laughing with me at all the nuances in our crazy life. She’s always there when I need her, even despite my crazy teenager tantrums and stressed out snapping. I love her! =]
Oh, and also, she eats, and appreciates, my baked goods! Gotta love that.