I was talking yesterday to a good friend who recently moved down South to be closer to her daughter. 

She was telling me the line she must carefully walk between her desire for closeness and her daughter’s need for independence…judging by the responses we still get in a story on that topic (link is here) it’s a tricky subject.

I mentioned a study I saw that said the most popular gift moms wanted for Mother’s Day was…time alone. 

She laughed and told me the best gift she got for the day wasn’t breakfast in bed (‘pancakes with jellybeans for breakfast and a sink full of dishes”) but a few plants for her garden that her daughter had started at a project at her preschool and brought home. 

“It was wonderful for us both to get our hands dirty in the soil,” she recalled.  “and it was a project we did together.”

So how about it? What was the best Mother’s Day gift  you got (or gave)?  Share your story in the comments!

Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send your suggestions for Open Threads to her at editor@seniorplanet.org.