Moving Forward…

This kind of blows my mind…I’m listening to the Freakonomics Radio Show and apparently flowers, the cut flower bouquets have a HUGE carbon footprint. There was even a woman who talked about the possibility of plastic flowers being (gulp) more green!

Personally, I’m sad to think about the flowers being shipped to Miami from South America and then trucked all the way to California. I remember though, visiting my grandmother in Oceanside California and driving past those AMAZING vast fields of blooming flowers. I’m kind of sad to think that all those flowers aren’t either being taken into consideration, aren’t enough, or what. I’m comfortable though knowing that at least those flowers must be making oxygen…right?

So what IS a truly green mother’s day present? I think a drawing, or maybe a painting…and if you are a kid (or husband!!) with money? Send mom to the spa please!

Ok, let’s make a list, highly dependent of course on WHO MOM IS but yeah, I think you’ll get the hints:

1.) Bulbs…IF mom is into flowers, for real, then I recommend getting a potted plant (or bulb!) that is blooming, there should be those wonderful scented lilies or tulips or daffodils around and the wonderful thing is…that IF mom is a plant person she knows next year the bulbs from these plants will create flowers again next year..and she will plant them. The carbon footprint of the initial bulb/plant will be greatly reduced each year as you no longer have to purchase new flowers, you instead can point to where you HELPED HER PLANT IT and remember with her how wonderful of a mother she is.

2.) Spa…IF mom is into being pampered, and especially if she rarely treats herself to pampering, I recommend sending/giving her a spa gift certificate. Mom’s are often VERY guilty of NOT pampering themselves and could use a little hint. You could say something in the card like, “Please use this mom because I hate to think I wasted my money!” It will leave her with the message that you want the best for her and you are willing to invest in her well being.

Shop Amazon’s Gift Cards – Perfect Anytime

3.) Amazon…Ok, so it doesn’t have to be amazon but they have got a HUGE selection and they will be able to buy whatever book or trinket, ebook (a particularly green option!), or anything else their wonderful hearts desire. Also if you get the gift card through that link above I’ll get a tiny bit of commission that I will consider a gift as well! Another option that you might want to consider if you have a green mom is a gift certificate to a b-corp like UncommonGoods.com (btw that link is NOT an affiliate link, they rejected me for the affiliate program for some reason that I’m frustrated about yet I continue to promote them because I love them) that has a commitment to improving the world with their profits.

4.) Art…If your mom is into art OR you are an artist OR your mom is just totally into your art and could care less about other art, for a mother’s day gift you can draw her a picture, paint her a painting, or in my case, I’d say to paint a coffee mug. Moms who eat a lot might prefer a plate, you get the point. Give mom some of that beautiful artist side of you!!!

5.) Card + …. ok the “…” in this one is up to YOU. You know your mom, and what she loves, it’s her day, mother’s day, let her know you know. For this one I’m just calling it Card+ because mom deserves a card (one you made or one you bought!) and whatever kind of mother’s day gift floats her boat. You could take her out to her favorite restaurant, cook her favorite meal, spend some time in the garden with her, buy her some starts for her garden, or grab a pint of Ben ‘n Jerry’s!

More than anything please appreciate your mom (wife)…let her know about the GOOD things that you appreciate about her…however you choose to communicate it…she will appreciate it I’m sure.