She’s stifled her laughter at you all these years, share a smile with your mum this Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day coming up (March 31, put it in your reminders now!), there’s plenty of talk about all the wonderful things our mothers do for us. From always listening to giving the best advice, as well as generally keeping us alive, there’s plenty to say thanks for. One aspect of motherhood that gets overlooked however, is what an absolutely heroic effort it must have taken (and probably still takes) for them not to laugh at us all the time.

Generally, mums give us patient kindness for years on end, while probably wanting nothing more than to laugh, because let’s face it, kids are hilarious, usually without meaning to be. Now that we’re older and hopefully a little wiser, they might have shared a few of the funniest stories of our childhood, but I guarantee there’s some hidden gems if you delve further.

So this mother’s day, gift your mum something lovely to say thanks and go through this list together, sharing funny memories. How many were you guilty of in your younger years? 

Baby Days

Although adorable, babies are a tough full-time gig, so new parents have to savour the funny moments when they come. This usually involves repeating any funny (read: embarrassing) stories about you as a baby frequently and for many years to come.

There’s always one about bodily fluids, whether you vomited profusely on a visitor or had an explosive nappy situation at an opportune moment. Maybe you also screamed your way through a wedding, or had a slightly manic attachment to a manky teddy. Ask your mum and she’s bound to have a whole host of clangers, although maybe you’d prefer if she didn’t share them when your friends are around. 

Childhood Capers 

Once we started walking and talking, the possibilities for the funny things we could do immediately multiplied. Things like telling your mum you didn’t know who had been playing in the flowerbed while covered from head to toe in mud, or announcing that you were never speaking to your best friend again, only to forget it all a day later, definitely would have had her stifling a smile.

Chances are, there was also probably an incident where you insisted you could do something, and then ended up screaming for her help. I once had to be rescued from the top of a tree, for example. 

The Terrible Teens

Teenagers as a general rule do not appreciate being laughed at by their parents, so I can guarantee your mum did some stellar smile-stifling during these years. From deafening door-slamming to outrageous outfits that you claimed she ‘just didn’t understand’, your mum is bound to have a whole list of things she endured with a straight face. And let’s not even get into our first forays into make up. You probably also weren’t keen on sharing much with her at this age, preferring to talk to your friends, so be sure to make up for this now. 

Independence at Last 

While we definitely told them to stop fussing when we packed up our stuff to head off to college or our very own first place, we appreciate that our mums hid their laughter when we arrived back, slightly malnourished and with the largest pile of washing known to mankind.

Our early years of independence are kind of reminiscent of the primary school ones, where we insisted we could do things, only to come running back to our mums when we couldn’t. Our mums probably also shared some stories of their own younger years, when they were similarly clueless. 

Today

Although we like to think we’re doing better these days, there’s definitely a chance our mum still has to stifle a smile or two at us from time to time. Like when we ring her to ask just about anything, never mind that she doesn’t have any more idea how the heating works in our new house than we do. Or when we revert back to teenagers around our siblings. It happens to all of us. 

So for all those stifled smiles, make sure your mum has a reason to smile properly this Mother’s Day by sharing a gorgeous gift from the Lily O’Brien’s chocolates range.

For an indulgent gift, the Dessert Collection (€10) is inspired by everyone’s favourite sweet treats, including crème brûlée and banoffee pie. Or for a mum who loves the finer things in life, the Exquisite Edition (€17.95) is full of sophisticated flavours such as raspberry and Sicilian lemon, grand cru ganache, and dark chocolate salted caramel. Both are available nationwide in all major retailers or online at lilyobriens.ie