Katie Pratt, Progressive Farmer Contributor

Every year as Mother's Day approaches, my kids ask the same question: "Mom, what do you want for Mother's Day?"

My response is the same one my mom gave my siblings and me, and possibly the same one her mother gave her.

"Good kids."

This wish almost always elicits an eye roll and groan. When they were little, my kids claimed this was too hard to give as a gift. Upon reflection, I'm not sure how many times my siblings and I succeeded in delivering on my mom's request.

Instead, we typically spent Mother's Day helping prepare the garden for planting, picking up sticks fallen in spring storms or clearing brush and dead trees in the pasture. At some point, we'd wander through a wildflower patch that sprang from the banks of the creek. Those blooms were so tiny and delicate, yet we managed to collect fistfuls accented with a few lavender-colored violets. My mom would pop those into a wide, shallow vase and display that bouquet as if it was the finest she had ever received.

These days, my Mother's Day may also involve a gathered floral arrangement, along with help planting porch pots and hanging baskets. My gift is the extra muscle power to lift bags of potting soil and arrange full pots.

On the farm, this "holiday" may not look different from other days, but as a "farm mom" by choice, I relish the break from the spring rush.

The day usually ends with a potluck gathered around a campfire if weather cooperates. Mother's Day for our family is less about gifts and more about time spent with the people who mean the most. Toss in burgers grilled over hot coals, simple salads and sticky, gooey s'mores for dessert, and suddenly, everything about this day feels good.

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Katie Pratt writes and shares her love of agriculture and family with others from a north-central Illinois farm. Find her writing blog at https://theillinoisfarmgirl.com/…

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