Macafee

These days, there is something to celebrate every day of the year.

For example, as I’m writing this column (May 8), it’s National Have a Coke Day and National Coconut Cream Pie Day, according to nationaldaycalendar.com. When this column is published on May 11, it will be National Eat What You Want Day, so make sure to take the time to pick your favorite restaurant or make a trip to the grocery store and choose your favorite meal to make or snack to chow down on. Indulge in the celebration.

These days obviously aren’t celebrated by everyone, but they are unique and funny and they always make me chuckle whenever I see one. However, these days aren’t to be mixed with the days of celebration that truly matter. The ones where the honorees should be celebrated as much as possible, and Sunday is one of those days.

I take the time to celebrate Mother’s Day every year because, like many of us, a few pretty incredible women helped raise me. I’m speaking primarily of my mother and grandmother, both of whom have had a massive impact on my life.

Since I was a little pipsqueak galavanting around my hometown in rural Western New York, my mom has been my rock, my sounding board and she’s always been there for me no matter what, like any mother should be. She’s always set me straight when I’ve needed to be, and she’s always been brutally honest with me when I’ve asked her to be. She’s also helped me become the man I am today, has pushed me to accomplish my biggest dreams and has always been my biggest cheerleader along the way.

I spoke about my ruptured appendix last week and how I spent almost three weeks in the hospital. Not a day went by when my mom wasn’t in my room checking on me. However, this wasn’t the first time she had been in this situation as I spent quite a bit of time in the hospital as a child. So much in fact that there’s a family joke that the hospital should’ve named a wing after me. Luckily, my mom worked at the hospital and was always there for me whenever I needed her to be.

She had a pretty good role model though.

My grandmother, we call her Gammy, is just as important to me and has taught me crucial life lessons since I was a young kid. When we took our family vacations, Gammy was the first to tell me the correct way of doing things. She made sure I held the door open for my mom and other family members, politely said please and thank you, cleaned up the table after dinner and always told me to take care of my younger cousins. These are things that you learn throughout your life, but Gammy drove them home for me and I’ve always been grateful for that.

Also, when my mom wasn’t in my hospital room, Gammy was. She often traveled up from Florida, where she and my grandfather lived throughout the year, to make sure I was all right.

It’s women like my mother and grandmother that make Mother’s Day so special each year. While they are the type of people who should be celebrated every day, Mother’s Day allows us to specifically share

the special type of people they are.

This also goes for all of the amazing mothers in your life, not just the ones who raised you but the ones who have had an impact on you or play a role in your everyday life. I have plenty of them and I’m grateful for every single one of them.

So here’s your one-day notice. Make sure you take the time today to set up a special day for the mothers in your life who have played a role in raising you or continue to impact you daily. They deserve it.

That being said, I have some flowers and gifts to go buy.