MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Mother's Day is this weekend. Letting you know this now so you have time to get the card and buy the stamp.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We asked listeners to tell us about their most memorable Mother's Day gift. Gay Prater (ph) in Lake Wales, Florida, has three kids who moved away from home. One Mother's Day, she went out for breakfast and was feeling sorry for herself.
GAY PRATER: When the waitress came, I asked for the check, and she said, oh, the gentleman who was sitting at that table over there - and he had already left, of course - paid your check. He was about the age of my children, and it's like, well, you know what? I guess he's missing his mom, just like I'm missing my children.
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MARTIN: Laura Atkins (ph) in South Bend, Indiana, says she took matters into her own hands after being disappointed for more Mother's Days than she could count.
LAURA ATKINS: I finally decided to start gifting myself Mother's Day do-overs. It's usually a day out with myself or a few friends. But the most fun one I had was going to an amusement park with a friend who was also another disappointed mom. We had a great time.
INSKEEP: Lynn Comer (ph) in Mount Prospect, Illinois, had this story.
LYNN COMER: A work colleague knew we were adopting, and in a simple act of genuine kindness, on the morning of Mother's Day, she sent me a text message wishing me a very happy Mother's Day. Although we wouldn't bring our son home until the following March, her thoughtfulness moved me to tears.
MARTIN: One Mother's Day, Mary Janisk (ph) had just gone back to school in Los Angeles, and her mother was in Arkansas.
MARY JANISK: I barely had anything to spend on Mother's Day, but I did have a margarita recipe. I went to the store, and I got some limes, made fresh margaritas for my mother, packed it up in a thermos and overnighted it to her. And she called me on Mother's Day after a couple of margaritas and was beyond delighted. And though she passed away almost six years ago, I can still hear her in my head - like, those grateful giggles over the phone.
INSKEEP: Amy Hill (ph) in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, says she enjoys her alone time but didn't get a lot of it as a new mom.
AMY HILL: I was given a weekend in Cape May, New Jersey, all by myself. I walked on the beach, read, journaled, prayed, slept in late. And when I came back home, I was refreshed.
MARTIN: For some, the answer might be found at a hardware store. Here's Nancy Sage (ph) in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
NANCY SAGE: Years ago, my husband bought me a dolly - not the toy, but the tool. Over the two decades that I have had it, we have put that baby to work in the garden, moving furniture and appliances, stone blocks and other heavy things. When my daughter was little, my husband would even give her rides around the yard.
MARTIN: But somehow chocolate wasn't mentioned, so...
INSKEEP: What's the matter with these people?
MARTIN: ...I'm mentioning it here.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) Thank you.
MARTIN: No to - don't get me a dolly, Steve.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) Chocolate - noted. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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