Mother's Day is awesome and all, especially if you get to sleep late, but I have a way to make it an even sweeter celebration: Show another special needs mom some love.
My idea comes from one I read on Cozi, a free site that helps moms organize their lives. Basically, you're a Mother's Day Fairy: Just pick another special needs mom in your neighborhood and drop off something special on her doorstep on Mother's Day, with a note. Your gift doesn't have to be major—think flowers from your garden, a few pieces of candy tied with ribbon, a $10 gift card to Starbucks. You can do this anonymously or not; it really is the thought that counts.
I was at the Mom 2.0 Summit this weekend; the Teleflora people were there, and they've offered up the above Premium Charm & Grace bouquet a mom can send to a special needs friend. (You won't even need to leave the house to be a Mother's Day Fairy!) The bouquet, worth $75, includes light-pink roses, pink asiatic lilies, light pink alstroemeria and white waxflower; it's accented with ferns and delivered (free!) in a pink glass vase. (NOTE TO HUSBAND: IT'S GORGEOUS, HINT, HINT).
RULES OF ENTRY
• To enter, leave a comment below about a mom of a child with special needs you'd like to play Mother's Day Fairy for (no need to name her, of course), and why.
• Valid email address required; I need that so I can contact you. So if your email is not visible on your blog, you'll need to leave it in your comment. If there is no email, your entry won't count.
• This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S.
• This giveaway is open until Wednesday, May 9 at 2:00 p.m.
WINNER DETERMINATION
• I'll randomly pick the winner and alert you; you'll then need to email me the name, address and contact phone number of the mom to whom you want to send the bouquet.
• If you do not respond by 9:00 a.m. on Thursday May 10, I'll need to pick another winner (the bouquet has to be ordered on Thursday to arrive in time).
Me, I know exactly who I'm visiting on Mother's Day, with a Starbucks gift card. I hope you'll join me in being a Mother's Day Fairy, even if you don't win the bouquet to send. If you've done volunteer work, you know that giving feels even better than getting. Ready to give? Of course, we all deserve major flowers on Mother's Day. Because we rock.
UPDATE This giveaway is closed; the winner is Elizabeth. And one of Elizabeth's friends is soon going to be very, very psyched. Meanwhile, I hope you pay it forward on Mother's Day in other ways.