http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Mary/26388 It's said&nbsp;that you can't really appreciate or understand your parents until you are a parent yourself.&nbsp; I've been thinking about this a lot lately with all of my work on Raising Bakersfield and Mother's Day this weekend.&nbsp;&nbsp;I am not a parent yet, so I wonder what kind of new perspective I will have on my childhood and my parents when I do become one. &nbsp;I had a wonderful childhood and was rather&nbsp;spoiled- but in all of the good ways! I have always been very close to my mom (if you don't include&nbsp;the very&nbsp;few spats we had when I was a teenager). The older I get, the more I can see her in me. My mom is one of my dearest, closest friends, so&nbsp;I am feeling kind of sad that I won't be able to spend Mother's Day with her (or even my mother-in-law). My mom is in Florida now and my mother-in-law is in Switzerland. The best I can do in this situation is just send flowers-&nbsp; but somehow just feels not good enough. My Mom said to me this morning&nbsp;&quot;oh Mother's Day is just a Hallmark holiday. For me, Mother's Day is Everyday.&quot; I can't tell if she is serious or if she is just saying it to make us both feel better. I just wonder for all of you parents out there reading this, Is Mother's Day really meaningful to you- or just another day? And how has your perspective of your mom changed since you became a parent? {This Mother's Day, I will be with a group of swimmers from CSUB that have volunteered to help Raising Bakersfield celebrate our launch on Mother's Day.&nbsp;We will be taking pictures of local families celebrating Mother's Day at local restaurants. Maybe we will be surprising you! Don't worry, we won't get shots of people actually eating- more like keeping them entertained while they wait for a table. } &nbsp; It's said&nbsp;that you can't really appreciate or understand your parents until you are a parent yourself.&nbsp; I've been thinking about this a lot lately with all of my work on Raising Bakersfield and Mother's Day this weekend.&nbsp;&nbsp;I am not a parent yet, so I wonder what kind of new perspective I will have on my childhood and my parents when I do become one. &nbsp;I had a wonderful childhood and was rather&nbsp;spoiled- but in all of the good ways! I have always been very close to my mom (if you don't include&nbsp;the very&nbsp;few spats we had when I was a teenager). The older I get, the more I can see her in me. My mom is one of my dearest, closest friends, so&nbsp;I am feeling kind of sad that I won't be able to spend Mother's Day with her (or even my mother-in-law). My mom is in Florida now and my mother-in-law is in Switzerland. The best I can do in this situation is just send flowers-&nbsp; but somehow just feels not good enough. My Mom said to me this morning&nbsp;&quot;oh Mother's Day is just a Hallmark holiday. For me, Mother's Day is Everyday.&quot; I can't tell if she is serious or if she is just saying it to make us both feel better. I just wonder for all of you parents out there reading this, Is Mother's Day really meaningful to you- or just another day? And how has your perspective of your mom changed since you became a parent? {This Mother's Day, I will be with a group of swimmers from CSUB that have volunteered to help Raising Bakersfield celebrate our launch on Mother's Day.&nbsp;We will be taking pictures of local families celebrating Mother's Day at local restaurants. Maybe we will be surprising you! Don't worry, we won't get shots of people actually eating- more like keeping them entertained while they wait for a table. } &nbsp; en-us <p>I forgot to mention all of the hundreds of dedications to Moms for Mother's Day that have been posted to our sister site <a href="http://people.bakersfield.com/home/ViewCategory/510">Bakersfield.com in the Your Words section</a>. They are very touching to read!</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Mary/26388/#c_236446 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Mary/26388/#c_236446 <p>I forgot to mention all of the hundreds of dedications to Moms for Mother's Day that have been posted to our sister site <a href="http://people.bakersfield.com/home/ViewCategory/510">Bakersfield.com in the Your Words section</a>. They are very touching to read!</p> <p>I have found that I appreciate my mom a lot more now that I'm a mom too. But I think a lot of my change of attitude came with distance. My mom became much more of a friend to me and I liked her a lot more after I moved out of the house and went to college. We had some major friction sometimes while I was growing up, but I think it's because we're both pretty stubborn. It's been fun having her around a lot more since I've had kids. She is a fun grandma, and a lifesaver for us whenever we need a babysitter. She's been great at anticipating our needs before we even know we have them. :) I hope I can be as good of a mom as she has been for me--even after my kids are grown up and out of the house.</p> <br /> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Mary/26388/#c_238218 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Mary/26388/#c_238218 <p>I have found that I appreciate my mom a lot more now that I'm a mom too. But I think a lot of my change of attitude came with distance. My mom became much more of a friend to me and I liked her a lot more after I moved out of the house and went to college. We had some major friction sometimes while I was growing up, but I think it's because we're both pretty stubborn. It's been fun having her around a lot more since I've had kids. She is a fun grandma, and a lifesaver for us whenever we need a babysitter. She's been great at anticipating our needs before we even know we have them. :) I hope I can be as good of a mom as she has been for me--even after my kids are grown up and out of the house.</p> <br />