Restaurant business will jump this Sunday as mothers in the U.S. get treated to a vacation from cooking. Many mommies will be waiting in bed for the heartfelt breakfast hatched by their young chicks. And flower shops hire extra help to handle the influx of sentiment. It’s a big day.

My children are grown and leading very busy lives, so I still get excited when they remember to remember me on Mother’s Day. A mere phone call is a simple gesture that means the world. I know relationships can get complicated what with divorces, step children, single parenting and such, but we all have a mom, and getting special consideration means the world because it lets her know that she’s valued. And how wonderful it is to feel valued. Even if you get this warmth from your families year round, having a day designated just for you still feels special.

Everyone has a different Mother circumstance and some are not so rosy. But this much I know; regrets weigh you down, little by little. So many people lose their moms and dads before tattered relationships are repaired, and they wish they’d said “I love you” one more time… or even for the first time.

I no longer have a mom to contact, but I still have this fun photo of the day three generations of women (my mom, my daughter, and me), strolled through the park together. It’s been three years since she died, but I can still remember her vividly in my heart.