Mothers' Day: The best gift of all

Yes, I am aware yesterday was Mother's Day. And yes, I am aware I did not give my mother a present. But am I worried? Not in the least. I have a foolproof plan.

Flowers are nice, but they eventually die. Chocolates are thoughtful, but I know what she'll say:

"Your father and I try to keep sweets out of the house." And I think she already has enough University Book Center gear to rival the spirit squad.

So this year, I'm going to give my mom a Mother's Day present she'll actually enjoy, something she will remember and treasure for years to come: my graduation.

What kind of a Mother's Day gift is that, right? She wouldn't want that. It's my graduation, not hers.

That's where you're wrong. Any college student who thinks her graduation is her own has never seen a proud, teary-eyed mother draped over the bleacher railing in a gymnasium — like Washington Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez lunging into the stands for a foul ball — reaching out to her child (who is all but grown) as she walks by unenthusiastically to the tune of "Pomp and Circumstance."

Any college student who thinks his or her graduation is his own has never seen a proud, teary-eyed mother jockeying for a position (among 10 other proud, teary-eyed mothers) to get a picture as her child flips the tassel and glances back at her halfheartedly, just as she asked for before the ceremony.

Let's face it, we don't graduate for ourselves. We do it for our mothers.

You might say I got a preview of my own commencement last weekend at my cousin Amanda's graduation from Millersville University. As Amanda posed for picture after picture, I could see the mothers bracing themselves, huddling together and passing around tissues.

While Amanda was taking a picture with her mother, my mom sidled up to me, staring quizzically at her niece's regalia.

"See? Amanda's hood is blue for her department. Why isn't your hood maroon for journalism?"

"Oh, it won't matter," I said. "I'm going to be one in thousands. Who cares?"

"I'm your mother, Rachel. I care."

And that's when it hit me. We don't iron our gowns for ourselves — we do it for our mothers. We don't buy personalized announcements for ourselves — we do it for our mothers. We don't take pictures with every Testudo statue on the campus for ourselves — we do it for our mothers.

And thank God we do. I couldn't imagine the ragtag, lackadaisical bunch of graduates entering

Comcast Center if we didn't have our mothers behind us every step of the way, propelling us toward our diplomas.

So this Mother's Day, let's give graduation back to those who truly appreciate it: the mothers. Let's give mom the gift of being on time, waving back and searching everywhere for that one last ticket.

Give the gift of not looking embarrassed when she steps out into the aisle to take a picture and not chomping on gum when we receive our diplomas.

As for me, I'll be the girl in the journalism section with the eye-catching lime-green hair ribbon and the cap that reads, "Hi, Mommy!"

Happy Mother's Day.

Rachel Hare is a senior French language and literature and journalism major. She can be reached at hare at umdbk dot com.