I ❤️ Mom

Listen to this reflection by playing the video below or continue down the page to read the full text version.

When it came to holidays, I was never the brightest bulb. I always struggled with what was appropriate. Was Valentine’s Day more important than Sweetest Day? Did it outrank our anniversary in terms of importance and planning?

After numerous miscues, Amy sat me down and laid out her expectations. She told me I only needed to worry about four holidays from a gift and special event standpoint – her birthday, Christmas, our anniversary, and Mother’s Day. I was free to ignore all the others as long as I gave these four the attention they deserved. For us, three of the four were in December, so remembering them was simple.

In the later years, we skipped the anniversary cards and just made sure we celebrated with friends or a nice dinner. One year, after no cards had been exchanged for several years, I surprised her with a nice sentimental anniversary card. She was taken aback and started to sulk that she had not gotten me a card. I asked her “Do you feel the same way towards me as the card says?”

Without hesitation she said, “Yes.”

“Well, then” I said, “why don’t you sign it and give it back to me.”

She smiled, signed the card and gave it back to me, earning me a very nice kiss to boot.

When it comes to nailing these four holidays, none of my gifts or dinners will EVER compete with Carson’s Mother’s Day gift in the 7th grade. As far as Youngquist Hall of Fame moments go, it will forever be in the top five moments and will likely remain an uncontested number one.

It started innocently enough after one of the boys’ diabetes clinics. At their appointment, they would get their A1C number and review the status of their diabetes management. They did not enjoy these quarterly reviews any more than we did as parents. Justified or not, all of us felt judged and uncomfortable after these reviews. So, we would typically treat the boys to lunch afterward and let them skip the remainder of the school day as a reward for enduring them.

After the appointment that year, Carson shared that he wanted to put tape on his chest spelling out I ❤️ Mom, then lay out in the sun to start his tan. Evidently, he had taken a dare from one of his friends for the upcoming Mother’s Day holiday. Amy gleefully helped him put the tape on and we both went back to work leaving the boys to enjoy their afternoon.

When I got home, I found Amy with Carson out on the backyard deck. Carson was very sunburned and on his chest was a distinct and pale outline of I ❤️ Mom. I could tell he was a little nervous about how clear his message stood out. Sheepishly, he told me he had fallen asleep while lying out, and the tape had done its job. We took some pictures to document this unique gift, and all of us got a good laugh out of it.

This was the gift that kept giving, however. Little did we know then, but the I ❤️ Mom lettering would be visible for almost a year! Amy was not shy about showing Carson’s chest off to anyone who asked to see it, including the other mothers at the boy’s baseball games.

As a catcher, Carson was viewed as a pretty tough kid and his reputation made the other mothers skeptical about his unique gift for her. So, one night before the game started, Amy hauled him over to the stands where all the parents were seated and made Carson take off his jersey in front of the other moms. He gladly obliged, throwing them all into cheers and laughter. It made for a very raucous crowd that night.

Carson never complained about how long it lasted, but after a while, I think even Amy wished it would fade from his chest. His friends never viewed his sunburn tattoo negatively, because they knew Carson truly did love his mother. The only time it felt a bit awkward was when they were waiting in line at Noah’s Ark, an outdoor waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells. They got a few odd looks from others in the line.

The love of Carson, Morgan, and Claire for their mother will never perish, and our family will forever smile when we remember Carson’s Mother’s Day gift to Amy that year. It fully deserves the #1 slot in the Youngquist Hall of Fame.