Ah, Mother’s Day.  The one day a year when mothers everywhere are exalted and waited on by their loved ones while being festooned with meaningful words of love.

NOT.

I have learned the hard way over the years to take charge of my own Mother’s Day celebration, else I’ll be waiting for my family to make last minute plans for me and I get stuck doing actual work on what is supposed to be my special day.

I mean, look at this poor woman.  I bet this photo was taken of her after her family left her house on Mother’s Day years ago and she was finally getting some damn rest.

But why focus on myself for this day?  My sainted mother, Margaret, has certainly earned and deserves more than her share of special days, so this year I decided we were going to do something out of the box for the both of us and bring a little levity to the celebration.

With the secret help of my mom’s good friend, we put together an assortment of hats, gloves, corsages and embroidered handkerchiefs to bedeck us when we went out for our traditional luncheon.

I thought my mom was going to pass out from laughing so hard when she saw this array of goods on her patio table.  But why not?  It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.  I love photos from past generations of seeing elegant ladies with hats and corsages celebrating special occasions and let’s face it, I don’t want to go to my grave someday never having done the same.  Life is too short, people, to not be a little ridiculous.

Aren’t these orchids beautiful?  Why do we save corsages only for high school dances and weddings these days?  Wearing this made me feel like QEII!  

In the end, we decided to go with these numbers.  Mom, in an over-the -top black chapeau with bright green feathers and me in a little veiled pillbox and Lilly Pulitzer dress.  (And no, my mother is not an amputee, if you’re wondering.  For some reason she put her arm behind her back at last minute because she didn’t know what to do with it for the photo.)

Once we felt sufficiently robed as ladies of distinction and style, we headed to Josephine’s Tea Room & Gift Shop in Godfrey, Illinois.

Josephine’s is a totally frou-frou destination for any woman who wants to immerse herself in pure femininity.  The tea room offers scrumptious food and the gift shop has a dazzling array of items for the home or a lady’s closet!

Outdoor seating area

Dessert!

Inside the gift shop….

I’ll admit it, we received many compliments on our get-ups and I ate up every minute of it.  We also got some looks (you know what I’m talking about) from some members of our fair sex, but it didn’t matter.  My mom and I had a lot of laughs while spending time together and I crossed off one more item on my bucket list.  What more could you ask for on Mother’s Day?

Until next time, don’t be afraid to be a little ridiculous.

For more information on Josephine’s Tea Room & Gift Shop, go to http://www.josephinestearoomsandgiftshops.com/