“Mom! I need this! Mom! I need that! Mom! Oh… I forgot what I needed.”

Sound familiar? As the old saying goes: necessity is the mother of invention. But sometimes we forget the order of that wise expression and reverse it, using our mothers as the invention of necessity.

So for Mother’s Day (yes, you still have time to find something nice for her), what we’re going to ask you to do is rethink your priorities. Put first the needs of that very special woman and all of the great mothers and strong female influences in your life.

Buy them flowers, figurines, candy, puppies or kittens if you’re feeling particularly risky, but remember that money cannot buy happiness. Nothing compares to actually spending time by her side, or at the very least making it obvious that you are thinking of her.

A lot of people are holiday haters. They like to say that particular holidays were invented by those evil speciality card companies just to sell lies. But even those conspiracy theorists cannot deny that mothers deserve a day just for them. Maybe in the future we’ll wise up and give them the other 364 days. Wouldn’t the card companies love that! Until the point comes when society loosens up and drops its less important distractions, that will not happen.

It’s a sad fact of life that people grow up and grow apart, but days like the upcoming Mother’s Day (hint! hint! you better rush out and find that perfect gift when you’re finished reading this) are there as an effort to make up for late hours worked, years spent away, and even to put aside our petty differences.

Instead of saying, “Mom! I need this!” and “Mom! I need that!”, try something different. Try telling her how much you already have just by having her in your life.