Mother's Day (and a mitzvah!)

I don't know about you, but I find Mother's Day to be the hardest day for which to buy that perfect present. Perhaps it's because it falls, every year, right in between my brother and father's birthdays, so I'm all shopped out. Or maybe it's just that it's hard to come up with unique, significant ways (each year) to tell your mother how very special she is to you. In thinking about what I wanted to get my mother this year, I thought a lot about who she is and what she's given me. My mother is one of the wisest, most compassionate, insightful human beings I have ever met - okay, maybe I'm a little biased. More than that, she's instilled in me a deep commitment to love deeply and act compassionately and justly in this world - to help others individually and collectively through our own gifts of time, talent, and privilege. (Yes, mom, I gained ALL of that through you!)

Instead of buying another cookbook, or piece of jewelry, or even sending flowers, I made a donation, instead.
Jewish Women's International (JWI) is a phenomenal organization that is committed to promoting the well being of Jewish women through areas of leadership, social skills, and community training. One of the many projects they do is called the Mother's Day Flower Project.

It is estimated that over 30,000 women will spend Mother's Day in a battered women's shelter. The Project collects donations and then sends cards on your behalf to the recipient letting them know that through the donation made, thousands of women will be receiving Mother's Day bouquets and beauty products - women who might not ordinarily get recognition or gifts. To me, this was an easy mitzvah. I was able to give something to these women who have gone through unimaginable abuse, and help empower them to continue working towards recovery and healing - through a simple gift. And what better gift to honor my own mother with than an act of kindness, compassion, and love?
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MOMS OUT THERE!!!