My First Mother's Day

There was a time when I thought flowers were always attached to a romantic gesture. But today, apart from my girlfriend, I always give flowers to my mom. My mom always used to say that she will always be my first girlfriend, and no one else can come before her. I can recall a memorable instance when I treated my mom to a big bouquet of flowers.

The first was back when I was four. We had a family tradition in the house that my father was very particular with. To convince us that the value of work was equated to how much we did, my father would give a small incentive for picking out the weeds in the garden. I remember it clearly that for every weed pulled out from the garden, my dad would give five cents.

That was cold hard cash in the Philippines back in the 80’s. I made sure not to pick the flowers. Or did I really, because after a while, I had that bright idea to give a “bouquet” of flowers to my mom. And by a bouquet, I mean a fistful of small flowers picked from the orchids in the garden. After making my delivery of weeds to my father and collecting my twenty minutes worth of pay, I made my way to my mother and proudly handed her my little gift. Funny.

I would always notice an awkward grin in my mom’s face when I would give her my gift. At the time, I never knew what this meant, but at an early age of four, a smile the shape of a reversed coat hanger with the words “Very good” or “How thoughtful” are words I always received with glee.

A few years passed and I remember my mom bringing up that memory during dinnertime. Later on, I found out from her that she didn’t like the idea of me picking the flowers from the garden because she was trying to cultivate them. It was rather funny - she didn’t want to reprimand me for such a kind gesture, thereby risking my developing a distorted sense of right and wrong. But what can a mother do, alas, but appreciate this innocent gesture of mine?

Today, I still give my mom flowers and she still has that smile on her face. The only difference is that now, I do not pick flowers from our garden. I send them through a flower delivery service. More importantly, I now know the reason for her awkward smile. Because every time I give her flowers, she never fails to cry with tears of joy.