There is so much advertising and publicity around this day many people find they just don’t relate to what we used to call Mothering Sunday.  Not everyone can treat their mother to a cream tea, an enormous bouquet of flowers, and not all mothers want a box of chocolates if they have health issues.  Lots of mothers are too far away from their families to be visited.

When my children were young, I always preferred a bunch of flowers picked from the garden than any flowers they could have bought.  It really is the thought that counts and a bouquet sent from a major supplier doesn’t represent a lot of thought.  Which is not to say such a bouquet wouldn’t be very welcome but there are other presents, easy to post, that represent a bit more consideration.

Obviously as a writer, and also a huge reader, I would suggest a book.  My mother and I used to give each other books even when it wasn’t Mother’s Day.  Giving someone a few hours away from the worries and difficulties of real life is a lovely gift.  An added joy to a book is that you can pass it onto someone else when you’ve finished it.  A bunch of dead daffodils or an empty tin of Rose’s isn’t something you’d pass onto a neighbour or friend you have coffee with.

The world is a very worrying place at the moment and something which means I can’t think about it for a little while is just what I’d like.

That said, I know my children would say, ‘Mum!  I can’t buy you books!  You have so many of them already,’ and I do understand this.

But if your mother isn’t a writer, and hasn’t got far, far more books than is reasonable, think about it as a present.  It may just hit the spot.