A Mother’s Day Challenge: Brunch and Beyond
Go ahead and let the laundry pile up as the dishes lay in the sink.
The lawn is not mowed. The grocery list is long. The new shirt you just put on has strawberry drippings from two seconds ago and your gray hairs are showing up like bright pink neon. The kids are all dressed up for brunch and playing in the mud. It is Mother’s Day. Regardless of all of items on the to-do list, it is time for all of those who are called Mom to be celebrated.
I could write about the history of Mother’s Day (that it was only declared a national holiday in 1914 by then president Woodrow Wilson.) Or speculate on how Mother’s Day brunch became synonymous with the holiday (maybe because the greatest gift to your mom was not making her cook.) This year, how about eating as a family at one of Omaha’s Mother Day brunches while basking in the glory of the celebrated?
I look at myself as Mom and all those moms around me and before me and I endlessly thank a higher power for all of us. For what a mom does is short of miraculous and I certainly include myself in that sentiment. All moms should. Luckily, my children have had no prior mothering to use as judgment against me so being a scattered, preachy, cell-phone chatting, food writing, goofball of a mom who loves with all her heart is just fine with my kiddos. Isn’t that a miracle?
There is a small (okay, medium) part of me that would like Mother’s Day to go a different way. How about some time alone or time out with adult friends where one can regain a sense of our pre-mommy selves? A day at the spa, an adult movie where we don’t have to take anyone potty, a leisurely stroll through the Farmers Market with a friend; are all ideas that come to mind. Trust me, as a former full-time Event Planner and the current contributing editor of Dish Omaha; there is not a shortage of adult things to do in Omaha. Instead, we could look around the chaos that is the brunch table and celebrate the gift of our own mothering miracles?
So part one of the Mother’s day challenge is this, let’s celebrate that the kids made it to those soccer games and to all other activities during their week to create the huge pile of laundry. Let us celebrate that there was food made and eaten to dirty the dishes in the sink. Shouldn’t we love when our little ones sit on our laps eating drippy strawberries? For soon enough, our laps will rarely be used. And those obvious gray hairs show that we have survived many life experiences. And I, for one, am happy my kids are carefree enough to play in the mud. (Maybe not all dressed up but we can’t have everything, which is kind of my point in all of this.)
Part two of the Mother’s day challenge is where to go for brunch?
Probably the only time to take your kiddos to the swank Magnolia Hotel is for the Mother’s Day Brunch Buffet. Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Magnolia also offers complimentary valet and features Michael Walker, Omaha’s vintage vocalist. Adult prices are $24 while seniors are $19. Kids under 12 are $12 and 3 and under are free. You can call 402-341-2500 ext. 6 to make reservations.
If you are looking for something a little more lively, Midtown Crossing’s Crave is having a Mother’s Day Grand Buffet from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Prices are $23.95 for Adults and $12.95 for Kids 12 and under. It’s also worth mentioning that Crave is offering a bottomless Mimosa for $14.95 for any Mom who really wants (needs) to enjoy the day. You can make reservations by calling Crave at 402.345.9999.
Lastly, for the more established Moms on Mother’s Day, I would suggest Dante Ristorante at the Shops of Legacy in West Omaha. Dante’s is offering a $22 three-course prix fixe brunch as well as a la carte brunch items. All Moms’ will receive a complimentary Mamma Mia cocktail. Please contact Dante Ristorante at 402.932.3078 for more information or to make a reservation.