Fresh is Best! A Mother's Day Hint. #FYBF

*This is a sponsored post.*

For those of you that are mothers you might be really looking forward to Mother's Day next month.  Or for those of you that have mothers (or a mother-in-law) you are either planning the perfect gift or tearing your hair out because you're afraid of getting it very, very wrong.

I think there's way too much pressure on gift giving. Some people go to a lot of trouble and think that the more lavish the gift, the more the giftee thinks you love them.  But guess what? Mothers are different (well most mothers anyway).  They'll most probably just be glad you remembered them.

When my kids were little I loved that they went to the trouble of making a card and picking some flowers from the garden. As they got older I would give them $5 to buy something from the Mother's Day stall at school, which would invariably be some lavender hand cream, a coin purse or a glass figurine you have to hide in a cupboard for about 40 years.

I often used to get a version of this home made treasure:

(from here)

Now that they're older and, I assume, a lot more capable of taking themselves up the shops and spending their own pocket money on a very heartfelt gift they would spend weeks thinking of .... ,  in reality they mostly leave it to their Dad to buy a present on their behalf. Sometimes I let them know what I would like but I secretly wish they could magically know and present me with the perfect gift. 

So I have become that Mother. I've become bored with being a matyr and now demand their love be demonstrated by a gift chosen (and sometimes purchased) by me.

As I do quite a bit of online shopping for gifts for family and friends (OK mostly for myself), I've started to subtly email links of my wish list to my husband and kids when it gets close to special occasions, like Mother's Day!

But it would be wonderful if they were to plan a bit more than a day before that special Sunday and actively go to a website and buy something beautiful delivered in time that they could present to me while I languish queen-like in my bed eating smoked salmon omelette and champagne (or in reality, burnt toast and cold tea).

Which brings me to FreshFlowers - this is a total hint, family! - absolutely beautiful bunches of blooms (and chocolates!) that can be chosen from the privacy of their room, delivered same day or next day, hidden in their closet and sprung upon their wonderful Mum first thing on Mother's Day.

Also it is the perfect solution for that mother-in-law that is impossible to buy for - you can even leave it for the last possible moment!

FreshFlowers also offer a great Reminder Service where you can sign up to receive an email for all those birthdays and anniversaries that get forgotten until the last minute. You'll look like a star! Personally, I think I"ll sign the hubby up to receive the reminders, that way he'll never forget the 101 anniversaries we have (first met, first went out, first started living together, wedding - you've got to celebrate!).

Hint, hint!

Aside from offering Mother's Day flowers, another big plus for me is that they support Daffodil Day and Heart Research Australia. Love it when a company gives back.

On top of all that they have great prices. I know with previous experience in sending flowers through work that many companies charge an arm and a leg for flowers which are pretty ordinary, but FreshFlowers are not only very reasonable every day, they have regular specials like:

Find out here!

Lastly, FreshFlowers know the joy that a surprise bunch of flowers can give someone and after reading 'Flowers and Faith in Humanity', I think I'll be sending a bit of that joy more often.

Or if you'd rather, send yourself a thank you for just being you, signed 'Anonymous Admirer' - think of the attention you'll receive from your partner after receiving that!

**Joining With Some Grace for #FYBF**

Our Mothers' and Fathers' Stories

I just returned from a night at Gleebooks listening to some wonderful Australian authors talk about a book which by the title 'My Mother, My Father, On Losing a Parent', sounds like a bit of a downer, but it was filled with more laughter than tears.

The authors wrote of their experiences of their parents' passing in a way that made them think that they may be becoming their parents and the majority of the audience's reaction seemed to nod along.

I bought the book and lined up with the other fans for Thomas Keneally, David Marr and Kathryn Heyman to sign and possibly get to tell a little of me to them.  I always blurt out the weirdest shit when I meet someone I admire and this time was no different.  Let's just say David Marr was either impressed with my blurt and he really did think I should write about it or his eyebrows shoot up his forehead and he says this to shoo away pesky weirdos all the time.

Nevertheless, I actually said something for a change to all three of them (Thomas Keneally shared a joke about ever present dead mothers with me) and I wasn't totally embarrassed with myself.

On a related note (but a much sadder one), Mr Moneymaker's Little Nanny died last week (our kids called her Little Nanny as she was tinier than her daughter/their grandmother, Nanny).  She was 90 and only suffered for a short amount of time but lived the life of a tough, Maltese immigrant that lived through the bombing of her home and who almost single handedly brought up a large family in a new country with almost no English.

She spent her last years in the care of one of her daughters without complaint or demands (as far as I know). She must have had a huge influence on her children as all five of them kept close and lived within ten minutes of each other most of their lives, along with most of their children (I think Mr Moneymaker was the rebel there).

Unfortunately I cannot make the funeral but I hope that her progeny send her off in the manner she deserved. But with a touch of humour and sentiment.  I didn't have much contact with Little Nanny but the times I was with her I could tell there was more going on in her mind than what most of the family seemed to think (I could be wrong). But there were times at family gatherings where someone would almost always do something ridiculous and when I looked to see her reaction she would have a slightly Mona Lisa smile, possibly wondering how this huge, noisy and outspoken family originated from her.

Hopefully someone has remembered her story (I would love to have known what she was like as a girl) as David Marr did. As his father was on his death bed, David did what he always did throughout life - he took notes.  Its something I wished I did, along with asking, even urging, my parents for their story.  As it is, I'll just have to make some of it up.

Do you know your parents' stories?

**Joining up with Jess for IBOT**