1 I told my mom, Maurine, to be ready by 5 p.m. on Mother’s Day. I was at her place at the Redwoods in Mill Valley a few minutes early, with yellow roses in hand, and we started the evening with dinner at Piazza D’Angelo. As executive director of Bread & Roses, I have access to great venues and artists’ performances around the bay, but I chose a show at 142 Throckmorton, since it is a great spot for seniors. When I dropped her off, I thanked her for 63 years of friendship, inspiration and unconditional love.
—C. Flipper, Greenbrae
2 My husband knows how much I love a day at the spa, so he sent me to Stellar Spa in Corte Madera for their vacation package. I started off the day with a long walk, knowing that I could take a shower there, wrap myself in one of their warm cozy robes and then lounge in the waiting room. My “vacation” started off with their signature facial, followed by a tropical sugar body scrub and a Swedish massage, and ended with a botanical scalp treatment. I floated home and slept until dinner.
—M. Hancock, Point Richmond
3 We have an ongoing tradition with five families. During the day, each of the guys is assigned a job to do, depending on his particular expertise. There’s the meat guy, the fish guy, the appetizer guy. My husband has limited abilities in the kitchen, so his position is “mood guy”…he’s in charge of the music, flowers, lighting and candles. After a day at the spa, we get picked up and taken to one of our homes, where the guys have been cooking all day—one year they even hired a mariachi band.
—L. Baker, Sausalito
4 All I wanted to do last year was sit in the front row of the Giant Dipper roller coaster and the Log Ride in Santa Cruz. So, on Mother’s Day my husband packed us up and off we went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We were first in line for the Log Ride and rode it five times in a row, laughing hysterically the entire time. What I wanted for Mother’s Day was to feel young and free like a kid again! It worked; the day was more than rejuvenating!
—B. Gerraty, Mill Valley
