A Mother's Day Challenge

I've been taking a storytelling class with Section4 and decided to write about the inspiration for this year's Mother's Day cards. I hope you enjoy this story.

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His jaw was already clenched as he walked past the corral of red shopping carts. Greg wouldn't need a cart today.

He was dreading the opening moments at Mother's Day brunch tomorrow when he was expected to give his his wife and daughters thoughtful, appropriate cards. They had very different tastes, and only two-thirds of them were mothers, which was a rather sensitive subject.

But the most urgent challenge was his visceral reaction to the greeting card aisles: so many cards, and most of them the wrong fit. He typically opened dozens of cards -- disappointed by most of them -- to find a card that fit both the occasion and the recipient. He would eventually pick the least objectionable one, scrawl a few words, and hope for the card-giving moment to pass quickly.

With a deep breath, he picked an aisle, found a Mother's Day label, and started looking. Many times over he liked the design on the front, only to have his hopes dashed upon opening the card to paragraphs of text, much of which he didn't want to say. Other times the front design just didn't resonate, and he kept on skimming down the line of cards.

He tried the funny section, the thoughtful section, the pop-up section. No luck.

Exasperated, he walked to the next aisle and saw an unfamiliar heading: Lavender Finch, not your grandmother's cards. "Good thing I'm not shopping for Grandma," he muttered. He flippantly picked up a card with "Happy Mother's Day" surrounded by tulips. He didn't let himself hope as he opened the card.

"Very glad to celebrate you today!" That's all it said. He agreed with every word. Greg's jaw unclenched as he started to smile.

At brunch, his wife gushed as she read his handwritten appreciation. His younger daughter beamed as she opened her card, again with far more scribbled sentiments than she was used to receiving from her father. She'd have a second delight upon returning home, when her son would give her a lighthearted card with ample space for the message carefully spelled out by his dad. (Greg had stealthily dropped this off at their house, excited to share his new discovery.)

The best moment was when his older daughter, tightlipped and quiet, opened her card that said "Thinking of you on Mother's Day" and was filled with kind words from her father. She jumped up and ran around the table to give Greg a giant hug. "I didn't expect to be seen today. Love you, Daddy."