Gifts for the Mother of the Graduate

His first graduation gift arrived…special delivery by FedEX.

I hold the box in my hand peering down at the name listed on the address label.  Surely this isn’t for my baby.  Surely he is not about to be entering into the next phase of life.

I call the sender (which was my parents) to let them know the package was here, and as I hang up the phone I think to myself, Where’s my gift?

I mean really I am the one that taught my man-child to tie his shoes; I cried when he stepped on the bus and into kindergarten; I made ALL those 1480 sack lunches throughout the years; I sat working on homework or  occasionally doing the craftier ones. (Nope not ashamed to admit I took over a few times for the creative ingeniousness that got some A’s) And I am the one that worried for nights on end that passing grades would be achieved.

Where are my gifts?

But what kind of gifts could you get “Wonder School Mom” of a graduate of any age?

How about a MOM’s Graduation Survival Kit?:

Start with a stylish, washable (you’ll be glad) fabric CARRY ALL with lots of pockets.  Fill with items from the list below that you custom picked for your gift receiver.

For the mom with leaky faucets (eyes)...A colorful box of Kleenex with a handy personal size package tied onto the front with coordinating ribbon.  WARNING: some moms may require something sturdier like a roll of Bounty “the quicker picker upper” or a bucket for all the tears. 

For the mom with bumbling lips…a nice application of the new lip balm labeled “Gorilla Glue”. Applied liberally to the lips before your favorite shade of lipstick to prevent loud sobs and stories about your baby eating dog food in front of his classmates. (Please do not try this at home.)

For the mom with eyes puffy from crying…a Sharpie eye liner.  It helps define the eye, and it’s waterproof, you know.

For the mom with those sticky hand toys for limbs…a strait jacket to keep your arms to yourself.  It is time to allow those babies to fly away, and they can’t if you keep choking the life out of them.

And last but not least…

For the mom with the broken heart…a case of duck-tape. It will hold all the pieces of that heart together, and it comes in many attractive and fun styles these days.

You know moms, they are always running around making everything perfect for their graduate so any mom would be forever grateful for your considerate gift.

Oh and for the mom with the worst case of graduation blues…it never hurts to tuck in a roll of cash.  Some good shopping therapy will always be a good mode of survival for any mom.

But truly the best gift of all is seeing your child succeed, watching your child take the next step into life, and knowing the child's independence is the thing for which you have trained them to accomplish. There will be more than one mom sitting through graduation with flashbacks to kindergarten graduation, with memories of struggles, challenges, and hardships, with cherished snapshots in her mind of those special "firsts," of prom dates and homecoming, and of sporting events or academia accolades. So, grab her hand, smile and hand her a paper towel.

What about you?  What would you add to the Mom of the Graduate Survival Kit?