Solar energy has been around for quite a while and most people don’t think about it much except for the ones who are already into renewable sources of energy. Environmentalists have always loved the idea of solar energy but what has kept it from going more mainstream, being more widely used and looked upon as something someone wants to spend money to install on their property? There have been improvements in the technology of solar energy, but has there been enough? Isn’t the war on terror and the desire to be independent of foreign energy sources enough to persuade people to use solar energy? At what point will solar energy become the great and never ending source of energy many of envisioned many years ago?

Well, I, for one, think that the time has just about come for solar energy to really take off because of one reason: it will be economically the right and smart thing to do.

Last year I was driving to Las Vegas from San Jose and when I was just about three quarters of the way to my destination I passed a sign that said something about a “solar farm.” I glanced over and saw row upon row of solar panels sitting in the middle of the dessert. This is about the only farm that could survive in the dessert I thought to myself. Then I thought ” Wow. Why can’t I do that?” In a smaller fashion of course because of my limited resources. But I thought why not rent some land and buy some of these panels and start my own little farm? It made sense and actually it still makes sense to me.

I went home later and looked into the solar energy industry. I wanted to see if this was possible now and I thought if these people put all those panels out in the dessert and sold the energy to others why can’t a small businessman?

Well, what I found out is that it isn’t quite possible to do just yet. Why? Because the cost of the panels, property, labor etc.. wasn’t low enough to make a profit for what you can sell the energy for. The solar farm was more than likely subsidized by the government. So I looked into the possibility of using them on homes. This thought has been around for decades and you do see the panels on more homes than you used to so I was wondering if this was possible now. I found out that it just takes too long for the average consumer to get their investment back to consider putting solar panels on their homes.

The average time for a homeowner to get the money back on their investment is anywhere from 12 years to 20 years. For this industry to take off that figure I believe will have to go down to around 5 to 7. Not that far really. It could actually go below that.

Three things have to happen for the solar energy promise to become a reality and for homeowners and entrepreneurs to decide in large numbers to use solar panels to create electricity:

1. The price of the panels will have to decrease.

2. The panels will have to improve and produce more energy.

3. The cost of energy will have to increase.

Actually just one of these factors can happen to a great degree and the other two stay constant and the point will be reached where the solar energy industry will explode. But more than likely, all three will come closer together and at some point people will decide to start buying the panels in record numbers and we will see this way of creating energy from a clean and renewable source be common place.

Here is why I think the time is very near for this explosion to happen.

1. There is a bill in the state legislature in California now that will spend $billions on rebates for solar energy. The governor wants to show that he is in the front of this movement and wants to be aggressive. Some don’t like the way the bill is written, but there is a good chance it will pass.

pending bill article

2. The panels are becoming more and more efficient at producing more energy.

3. The price may go down dramatically if contracts with China to produce the panels are put into place. Normally I don’t like our jobs going oversees to people who only get fractions of what the US worker makes but in this instance it will also create many jobs here to install the panels, sell them, warehouse them etc… Plus this is something the country needs I feel. Clean, renewable energy that makes us less reliable on foreign oil and gases.

Also, some companies are producing these new generation flexible solar energy panels that come in sheets and can be rolled up and then out onto surfaces. These may bring the cost way down and make the instalation much more easy and cost efficiant. Here is an article about this new product:
click here

At what point will these three variables merge?

I predict in the next two to three years this industry will take off like so many of us were hoping it would many years ago.

People can act now, and many already are by buying and installing these solar panels. With the war on terror looking like it could last decades many look upon this investment as not only a clean green solution and a smart investment on increasing the value of their home, but as almost a patriotic gesture in a way to free us from the dependence on middle eastern oil and natural gas.

Tim Phelan is a full time internet marketer, artist, father,
fitness enthusiast, off the wall and all around good guy.:-)

Email address nalehpmit@yahoo.com

Blog http://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/

Copyright Tim Phelan 2005

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Everyone who has ever owned a puppy or a kitten has experienced this problem: Their new pet suffers from separation anxiety. They want to be held constantly. And they want to go everywhere with you: To the kitchen …to the bedroom …to the bathroom …out to the garage …and everywhere else!

And when they aren’t following you everywhere you go, they want body contact: A warm body to snuggle up against.

When we got our first puppy, a small Chihuahua named Koda, we quickly relized that puppies demand attention …a lot of attention! Like most puppies, Koda hated being alone. He would follow us around everywhere and always wanted to be held. Obviously, holding him or carrying him around all the time wasn’t an option. And of course, we couldn’t get very much done with just one free hand while we were carrying a puppy around. This was a pet problem begging for a solution.

We finally started wearing zip-up sweatshirts so that we could put our puppy inside and zip him in just enough for his head to pop-out. This experience sparked the idea to create a pullover sweatshirt with a specialized pocket, or puppy pouch, just for our puppy to snuggle in. We searched the internet and looked in all the local pet stores, but none of the available dog carriers worked as well as our makeshift sweatshirt solution. We also looked everywhere for sweatshirts with big pouch pockets which we could use to serve our own puppy carrying purposes, but none were up to the task. To our amazement, no one had ever designed clothing apparel suitably designed for carrying puppies or small pets!

So we made our own. We constructed our first puppy carrier for our own puppy from an old pullover hoodie sweatshirt. Not suprisingly, our puppy loved it. Whether we were at Starbucks sipping a latte’, or having dinner or lunch at an outdoor cafe, he loved getting into his pouch and snuggling while we enjoyed our meal or coffee. We also found that our puppy was quite content to be carried in his pouch while we strolled the boardwalk at the beach or walked through local malls.

And we noticed something else. A puppy in a puppy pouch sweatshirt created a lot of excitement. Of course, everyone wanted to pet the cute little puppy who’s face popped-out from the kangaroo-like pouch. But our puppy carrier sweatshirt itself stirred incredible interest and curiosity.

It seemed that people who owned small pets needed only to see our puppy in his pouch …and they became intrigued with the idea of carrying their pet in their clothing. The functionality of our pet carrier sweatshirts was immediately apparent to pet owners whose small pet tires quickly during morning walks or simply needs a safe place to snuggle while their master goes about their business.

So the moral to this story is simple. If you discover a solution to a pet problem that no one else has addressed, you may find yourself providing the solution if it is going to happen at all. As a business associate of mine is fond of saying: If it is to be …it’s up to you!

Brie Demkiw is a web designer for a Southern California marketing company. Her background in web design and web marketing began while working internships with web marketing companies as an undergraduate at University of California - San Diego. She started PuppyPouches.com in response to requests and inquiries from people regarding the availability of PuppyPouches which she had designed for herself: http://www.puppypouches.com

Copyright © 2005 PuppyPouches.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Would you believe that your dog is capable of following a track left by a person and finding them at the end, and that you can teach this in the time it takes to feed his normal daily meal without any extra training? Many dog owners are learning about the sport of Tracking. Find out if your dog has what it takes to be the next Tracking Champion or Search and Rescue hero!

The plan is really quite simple. You take a portion of your dog’s normal meal in a plastic bag. Then you ‘lay the track’, just walk normally across your yard, placing a piece of food in each step.

Pretty easy right? Your dog shouldn’t have any trouble at all finding all the food you left lying around the yard. When he gets to the end of the track, tell him what a good boy he is and give him the rest of his meal. He doesn’t actually have to find anyone at the end, yet. He just needs to find the food.

Next meal you do the same thing, but don’t place the food in every footstep. Leave a few out, one here and one there. The idea is to make your dog work a little harder to find the food, but still succeed really easily.

Next meal you do the same thing, but place food in every second footstep.

Next meal you place food in every third footstep.

Continue in this fashion, adding a few mild changes of direction to the track. Make it easy for your dog, the idea is to have him succeed really easily. This is just the beginning after all.

What we’re trying to teach is a connection between the scents left on a track and the food. At first it’s just a continuous trail of food, but as you start leaving food out your dog will have to look for clues. The consistent clue is that the food is always where your footsteps have been.

Dogs already know how to track. They are born with an amazing ability to find things using their noses. What we are teaching here is that we want them to follow footsteps. The food reinforces this behaviour.

Most dogs love this game, it makes dinner time so much more fun! Dogs are genetically programmed to work and hunt for their food. It doesn’t take long to give them this fun and enriching game to play.

Who knows? Maybe you have the next Tracking Champion or Search and Rescue hero right under YOUR nose?

Aidan Bindoff is Editor of Positive Petzine ( http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/positivepetzine/ ) a free resource for people training their own dogs. Join now, for a limited time all available back issues are available for free download!

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Cobi is five years old. Like most kids his age, he doesn’t understand the reasoning behind going to sleep when he still has energy left and there are still hours in the day. One night I was unusually tired and eager to get some sleep, but Cobi was wide awake and resisting sleep with all his power.
He used every excuse he could think of to stay up. He needed a drink, then he needed to go to the bathroom, then he needed a particular stuffed animal that he’d left downstairs. After finally getting him tucked in, I went to brush my teeth.

Over the sound of the water running, I heard him call,

“Gra-a-a-a-a-a-ma.”

“What’s wrong?” I called back.

“I’m too hot. Can I change into different pajamas?”

“All right,” I agreed. We found some light weight summer PJs with a big “S” on the chest. Of course, that meant he had to fly around the room a few times before leaping back into bed in a single bound. I kissed him goodnight for the second time and turned off the light.

While putting my night gown on in the other room, I heard,

“Gra-a-a-a-a-a-ma.”

I went to see what the problem was. “My back is itchy, can you scratch it?” I scratched it. Then I tucked him in again and left the room.
Before I got to the end of the hall, I heard, “Gra-a-a-a-a-a-ma.” This time, we had to check the closet for monsters. After finding the coast clear, I pretended to lock the closet door and throw away the key. “Even if there were monsters in there, ” I said, “they couldn’t get out now.”

A minute or two after I left his room, again came the familiar call,

“Gra-a-a-a-a-a-ma.”

He was still too hot, so we opened a window and threw back one blanket. “How’s that?” I asked with a yawn. “That’s good,” he said, “but I’m hungry.” Even though he’d had a snack before the bedtime ritual began, how could I send a starving child to bed? I’m a grandma, so what could I say? After a banana and a slice of cheese, I tucked him in AGAIN.

He was quiet for a good three minutes, but then he needed to get up and blow his nose. And then he needed his pillow fluffed up. And then he remembered that he hadn’t hugged grandpa goodnight, so downstairs we went to do that. As I was tucking him in that time, he announced that he was thirsty from the salty cheese.

“Now Cobi,” I said, fighting to keep my eyes open, “You can have one more drink and that’s it. I’m very sleepy. I can’t stay awake any longer. I need to go to sleep and so do you. If you call grandma any more, I’m going to be upset.”

He sighed, curled up beneath the blanket, and said, “Okay, grandma.”
Exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep, I fell into my bed. Then I heard a timid little voice from down the hall calling

“Mar-r-r-r-r-r-r-sha.”

Marsha Jordan
Author of “Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter”
hugsandhope@gmail.com
www.hugsandhope.org

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Looking for an unusual and memorable gift? Why not preserve a slice of history by creating a time capsule for your loved one?

A personalized time capsule can be made for any special event, such as a birthday, wedding anniversary, graduation or even the birth of a child. Your personally designed time capsule preserves history, popular culture, special memories and can help link generations of a family together. It is a unique and thoughtful gift that will be appreciated and long remembered.

There are a number of steps to keep in mind when creating a time capsule gift.

MAKE YOUR OWN HISTORY

Traditionally, a time capsule provides a “snapshot” of a specific day in history. Consequently, if you are making a capsule to welcome a new baby into the family, then you would focus on the baby’s birth date — what was happening in the world and with the baby’s family on that day. On the other hand, if the capsule is to mark your grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary, you probably want to make it more of a “retrospective” on their many years of marriage.

TIME CAPSULE 101

1. Start Early. The best part of any time capsule is the thought and preparation that goes into it. Be sure that you don’t rush the process. If you leave everything until the last minute, it will look that way!

2. Choose a Container. Think cool and dry when you search for just the right container. Check online for affordable time capsules and you will find a variety of styles. Some will even engrave the person’s name on your selected capsule. However, to make it very simple, you can make your own capsule by choosing a sturdy metal container that can be properly sealed.

3. Select an Unsealing Date. Perhaps you want to set a significant date, such as a child’s 21st birthday, a couple’s silver wedding anniversary or return from military service. Most people give their time capsule to the recipient unsealed so additional items can be added. However, you can seal it before it is presented and have the contents be a total surprise when it is opened.

4. Put it in Writing. This is especially important if the time capsule will be opened far in the future. Make a capsule document that details everything about it, including the contents, unsealing date, purpose of the capsule and who should be present when it is unsealed. Then keep it in a safe place.

5. Storing the Time Capsule. Although you may be tempted, it is not advisable to bury your capsule. You are likely to move or forget exactly where it is buried, and the contents could be damaged by the elements. It’s a better idea to give the capsule a special place in your home — perhaps the fireplace mantle or on the family piano. Let the capsule become a conversation piece as you show it to friends and family and talk about its significance.

CAPSULE CONTENTS

The key to a meaningful time capsule is to make it personal, relevant and interesting. Following are some ideas on items to include and more importantly a few to leave out.

First, it is strongly recommended not to include food, drinks or liquids. Basically, anything that could ruin the contents or create a bad odor. Instead, consider coins, money, stamps, a small keepsake album, newspapers and magazines. Write a letter explaining the time capsule’s purpose — be sure to use acid-free paper that won’t deteriorate as quickly. Cards and photos are an excellent choice, but consider layering them with acid-free paper as well.

If you are making the capsule for a person with special interests, try to incorporate their personality into the contents. For instance, a political junkie will enjoy campaign buttons and literature. Someone who is a golf fanatic will love golf paraphernalia or the signature of a famous golfer. A college graduate will get a kick out of seeing the plastic and metal “character” style toys that kids were playing with when he was born.

You can choose contents that are more lighthearted and funny or more serious and reflective. Just remember that you set the tone.

To learn about the history of the time capsule and how to register your personally created capsule, please visit the All About Baby website at http://www.allbaby.com

About The Author

Nancy Wurtzel founded her ecommerce business, All About Baby, in 1995. All About Baby at http://www.allbaby.com specializes in personalized and memorable gifts for children. Ms. Wurtzel also consults with small businesses seeking to enter the marketplace.

nancy@allbaby.com

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What is the most important thing in life after yourself? Family. Who do you love more than anyone in the world? Family. Who do you spend most of your time with? Work associates. What? Really? Shouldn’t we be spending time with family?

Most people spend the least time with those they love the most. Yes, we definitely need to provide for the physical needs of our loved ones. But time is our most precious commodity on this earth. You can never get back a moment that has passed. How we spend our time shows our true priorities.

There has been a lot of hype about “quality time” vs. “quantity time” lately. I have news for you. It is not our goal to justify not spending time with family, but to make any time we can spend, great or small, more effective. By more effective, I mean it should build and strengthen the individuals and their relationship.

That does not mean watching TV, arguing, nagging, lecturing, or resenting being forced to be together.

It does mean conversing, helping, cooperating, complimenting, laughing, and even needed disciplining. These topics could each have their own article. Today I just want to focus on making time to build these precious relationships.

1. Eat Together

Try to eat together as a family. Usually it only takes a few minor adjustments to allow everyone to sit down to dinner or breakfast together.

This is a great time to show appreciation. Did someone help prepare the meal or set the table? Did someone help little brother tie his shoe? Play with the baby so mom can get something done? Let them know you appreciate them.

Ask questions that you know will elicit a positive response or conversation. Talk about subjects your family is interested in. “How is that pollywog collection coming?” “When does your school band perform again?”

2. Family Staff Meeting

My boss at work requires that we attend a weekly staff meeting. We review objectives for the week, make assignments, discuss problems, set goals, measure progress, etc. All of this helps ensure the success of the project.

Don’t you think we should give our highest project, raising a strong family, the same kind of attention?

Why not have a family staff meeting? Spending 30-60 minutes a week on this type of administrative stuff can make the week run much smoother.

It is very important that you are consistent. Consistency shows them you care about them for the long haul and you are not trying to “quick fix” the family.

Plan an agenda, even if it is as simple as synchronizing calendars.

I know you’ll find these little methods of spending time with family most rewarding. May the simple concept of eating together and planning together strengthen you and yours.

Bret and Sharie are freedom fighters for family values. Through careful study and their own experience, they have found the key elements that bond a family forever. http://www.FamilyExcellence.net

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Christmas is busy, fun, exciting, and sentimental. We love it all — all but the part when we have to clean up and put everything away.

While it may be tempting to just throw everything into boxes and worry about sorting it out next year, you’ll be sorry when a precious Christmas decoration or ornament gets lost or broken.

Following these 10 tips will help you

A. Save time by getting all your Christmas decorations organized so it’s quick and easy to find them next year.

B. Save space by using the right kind of boxes that can be easily stacked and organized.

C. Save money by storing your Christmas lights and decorations in a manner that preserves their quality and extends their life span.

10 Quick Tips

1. Use Clear Plastic Storage Containers - These are great because you can see the contents without having to spend time labeling each box. Plus the plastic helps protect from moisture better than cardboard. When stacking, be sure to place the largest and heaviest boxes on the bottom and smaller boxes on the top.

2. Box the Beads - Pack the beads in small boxes such as plastic shoeboxes. If you use many strands of beads, larger boxes could become too heavy. To keep the beads from becoming tangled, place individual strands in baggies. If you prefer, you can wrap each strand around empty paper towel rolls and tape the ends.

3. Don’t Dog Pile the Christmas Lights - Don’t stack too many lights in the same box. The box will become too heavy and the lights on the bottom could be damaged. Lights can easily become tangled so individual strands of lights should be bagged separately or wrapped around paper towel rolls or something similar and placed in plastic grocery bags or large freezer bags.

4. Save Space with Re-Shapeable Decorations - Bows made of wired ribbon can be flattened and reshaped next year. Wired ribbon garlands and streamers can be tightly rolled. They don’t need to be flattened unless you need to conserve space.

5. Don’t Crush Your Wreaths - Wreaths can be stacked in larger boxes but each wreath should be wrapped with bubble wrap. If they aren’t wrapped then they shouldn’t be stacked. Bubble wrap can be purchased where office supplies are sold. Wreath boxes can also be purchased and are readily available on the Internet and in stores.

6. Wrap Christmas Ornaments Properly - Ornaments should be individually wrapped in white tissue paper or where greater protection is needed, wrap in bubble wrap. Since most ornaments are lightweight they can be stored in large boxes. If you still have the original boxes the ornaments came in, then store them in these and then place them in the storage container.

7. Protect Christmas Decorations from Moisture - If you live in a humid climate using plastic containers may not be enough to protect from moisture. Place packets of silica gel in each container to avoid damage from humidity. Silica gel can be purchased at arts and craft stores. If you cannot find individual packets, you can make your own by wrapping several tablespoons of silica gel in white tissue paper and securing with tape. Several packets should be placed throughout the box.

8. Guard Against Temperature Extremes - Delicate decorations such as ornaments made with photos or wax can be temperature sensitive. Store them in a climate-controlled area or they could deteriorate, melt or stick together.

9. Avoid Box Identity Loss - Attach a red ribbon or tag to each Christmas storage box. This will make them easy to identify next Christmas if they have been stored with other boxes unrelated to Christmas decorations.

10. Toss the Trash - Some people have a tendency to just “hang onto stuff” in hopes that they’ll find a use for it later. Don’t waste space by holding onto old ornaments you know you’ll never use again (unless of course it has some sentimental significance). Just toss out the trash.

A final note: You may also want to consider Christmas ornament boxes and wreath boxes for especially fine ornaments and wreaths instead of clear storage containers. They are available in stores and on the Internet. They are very convenient and some are even acid free for even greater protection for your fine collectables. They are more expensive, but for high quality, valuable ornaments this may be a worthwhile investment.

A little organization today will make you feel like a Christmas decorating pro next year. Happy un-decorating!

Judy Hardaway is the writer for Amazing-Christmas-Ideas.com - an online Christmas gifts and decorating ideas resource site. For more decorating ideas as well as gift ideas such as unique Christmas gifts for men, visit http://www.Amazing-Christmas-Ideas.com today.

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Up until about the 16th Century, time keeping was approximate at best. There were the beginnings of mechanical clocks that would sit in the homes of the wealthy or in the towers of churches, but they would start to slow in their time keeping — up to one-half hour per day — as the mechanical mechanisms would slowly wind down. It was at about this time that a young Galileo observed that the chandeliers of the church would sway in perfect rhythm moving from one spot to another quite methodically.

Galileo’s observations led him to start measuring the sway of the chandeliers against his own pulse. When he did this he saw that movement was consistent. He also observed that the relative timing remained the same even if the sway was large or small. Thus we have what many consider as being the first observations that a pendulum clock could accurately keep time.

It was discovered that there were variances in the timekeeping based on the pattern of the swinging, if not its distance. The swaying pendulum was then fashioned so that it could keep a swinging pattern with a curve that is called a cycloid.

In 1656 the first truly accurate pendulum clock was created by a Dutch astronomer, Christian Huygens. His clock used shorter pendulums that moved several times per second. Less than two decades later, William Clement, an English clockmaker, discovered that longer pendulums with weights took a full second to move back and forth and could measure that full unit of time more accurately.

Clock maker, George Graham was able to improve the pendulum’s accuracy in the early 1700s by controlling the pendulum length that was constantly fluctuating with temperature changes. He did this by enclosing the mechanism in a wooden box.
From there, the pendulum clock grew increasingly accurate. This was perfected at the beginning of the 20th century with the addition of the perfect amount of weight.

Up until this point, most clocks only had an hour hand. Chimes would sound on the quarter hour, but with the loss of so much time in a day, it was hard to measure the true time with this method. Clement’s pendulum clock, which came to be known as the Grandfather Clock, now had minute hands added that would move one spot after 60 complete swings of the pendulum. Now with the accuracy improved, most astronomical observatories of the day recognized the pendulum clock as the standard by which time would be measured.

Knowing gravity’s role in pulling the weighted pendulum and the rotation of the earth, scientists understood how the Foucault pendulum worked. This is a single weight at a specific length that swings in the cycloid pattern and appears to move around a large circle marked on the floor. Many science museums demonstrate the Foucault pendulum by having it knock over pegs with each hour that passes. Although it seems to be moving around the circle in order to reach each peg at the appointed hour, in reality it is the earth beneath it that is rotating to mark off the hours while the pendulum remains in its fixed pattern.

Grandfather and pendulums are still recognized as accurate ways of keeping time so long as the pendulums are properly weighted and climate can be controlled to keep the length consistent. Not only are they good at keeping time but pendulum clocks remain a decorative addition to many homes blending a timeless beauty with precision timekeeping.

Thomas Young is a watch collector. Visit http://www.internationalwatchclub.com for information on over 200 different brands of watches, including popular brands like Citizen Watch and Rolex Watch. It is purely an informational site.

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How can a person get through life without a time clock? We use them constantly, from watches to alarm clocks to grandfather clocks, we function through the use of a time clock, we all do. There are many different kinds of time clocks and I am willing to bet that you have more than a few of them in your home right now, probably in your car as well.

Electronic time clocks are pretty much the only kind that we see on today’s market. We no longer use wind up clocks, there are not even many wind up watches available anymore. Electronic time clocks are reliable and easy to use. You will not have to worry about having them lose time like you do other kinds of time clocks and they are cheap to run. You will not have to worry about your electronic time clocks breaking the bank.

You can find a time clock that uses almost no energy at all. These can usually be plugged in or be run on batteries. No matter which way you choose to run your time clock you will be fine and never late again! You can even place both batteries and a plug into most of these types of clocks. This is the best because the batteries serve as wonderful back up in case of a power outage.

An alarm clock is something that you need to have if you want to be able to get to work on time each day. There are all kinds of different alarm clocks for you to choose from when you need a new time clock. Some of these time clocks have large numbers that make them easy to read for everyone, even those with bad eyesight, and others will even reflect the time onto the ceiling. These are often time zone clocks as well as they will allow you to change the time zone according to where you live. They are usually automatically set by the world time clock, which means that you do not even have to set them. They simply tap into that signal out there and you are set for time.

If it is cheap time clocks that you are looking for then you will be happy to know that you will never have trouble finding them on the internet. You will be able to get all of the lowest priced time zone clocks, wall time and tide clocks, world time clocks, electronic time clocks and even time attendance clocks when you shop for them online. We live by strict time lines and we need to know that we can get where we need to be on time each day. It is the time clock that we use that will ensure that we can do this successfully day after day after day.

Even our workplaces have a time clock or two that we need to live by each day. We use employee time clocks to tell when we have checked into work and out of work. These time attendance clocks are a necessity that gets us our paycheck each month.

Jeff King is a technologist who writes on many consumer topics. There’s more about clocks at
Every Clock

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Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love. — Mildred B. Vermont

Eight of her twelve children had been baptized in tears of grief. For Ana Maria Jarvis the Civil War was far from civil. It didn’t seem fair that a mother should outlive so many children, yet she did. In doing so, Ana left a legacy that was adopted and championed by an unmarried daughter who shared her mother’s name.

In 1905, the younger Ana would baptize her mother’s grave in her own tears and begin a quest to bring attention to the incredible gift of mothering.

Two years later, Ana Jarvis sought to have Mother’s Day recognized on a national level. The second Sunday in May was the second anniversary of the death of Ana’s mother so this was a logical choice for Jarvis. Ana lobbied politicians to accept the notion of a day set aside to honor mothers. By 1911 the day was celebrated in almost every state in the union.

The tradition did not stop in America either. This special holiday is now recognized in many countries around the world.

More than a century has passed since the mother of inspiration passed away, and yet it is her legacy that is reflected in the admiration of multiple generations for the tradition of motherhood.

The choice of a Mother’s Day gift is a common celebration of that tradition. Special care should be exercised when seeking out a gift that proclaims a willingness to attempt to pay a debt that can never fully be repaid.

A gourmet gift such as an Oil and Vinegar Set can pay homage to the grand tradition of Mother’s Day in a way that brings a stroke of brilliant elegance and style to the occasion.

Gifts for the kitchen or that will ultimately tempt the palate are perfect for Mother’s Day gift giving primarily because moms spend so much time in the kitchen. Gifts that aid in meal preparations or pamper the taste buds are a welcome departure from more familiar gifts.

A kitchen gift may even indicate a willingness to return for a well anticipated meal with mom. Spending time with our mothers is important in maintaining closeness throughout the years. A Mother’s Day kitchen gift speaks volumes in regards to individual thoughtfulness, creativity and degree of kindness.

It’s possible to become so caught up in our own worlds that we forget the moments in childhood when our jelly-stained hands would reach for mom’s and we’d gaze into her eyes wondering why we couldn’t marry her or how much we wanted to be like her when we grew up.

Should you be able to take the second Sunday in May to personally express your appreciation for your Mother, be sure to take along a special gift that says you care. Then, consider investing some of your time with your mom. Grab her hand and look into her eyes and allow yourself to recapture the wonder of childhood. You’re in the midst of greatness.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Ana Jarvis for her persistent call for a day to honor the esteemed calling of motherhood. I think Ana would agree that, when it comes to motherhood, a lifetime is not nearly enough time to say thanks.

James Zeller writes for gift related websites and blogs. Here is a selection of unique gifts that he found, and a creative collection of culinary gourmet gifts.

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