Mother’s Day is right around the corner. And I’ll be honest, I’ve always struggled with how to mark that day. After all, my own mother is far from me, and isn’t always the easiest person to buy for. And since my wife and I have no children except for a four-footed, fur-covered one, the day is a difficult one. And given my late mother-in-law’s breathing problems, we went for gift baskets of food.

But Mother’s Day this year will be different. We lost my mother-in-law a few weeks ago, and so this year will be an especially hard one. I’m feeling like I need to do something special this year. So for my own mother, I will probably send a live plant. For my wife, roses from me and the dog to show her how much we both appreciate all the mothering she does for the two of us. Perhaps this sense of loss makes it more important in my eyes to do the right thing.

One small comfort at this time is that my wife and I got to spend a weekend with her mom shortly before she died. We both got to tell her what a special lady she was. At 1800Flowers.com, they are holding "The Celebrate Mom For Who She Is" contest where you can enter to win $30,000 by writing a short story and uploading a video about your mom – a chance to say just how special she is. Take the opportunity to do that. You won’t regret it.