Mother's Day is here Sunday
Sunday is the day we honor our mothers and, if we are lucky, our children honor those of us who are mothers.
It's also a day of sadness for some of us. We all had mothers, so we can enjoy them if they are still with us, but not all women are mothers. Many of us wanted to be mothers and it didn't work out for one reason or another, and some of us wisely knew they shouldn't be mothers.
So let's honor all of us on Sunday.
Honoring our mothers can be very easy and inexpensive. Just show up. If you can't do that call your mom, or even take her flowers wherever she is. This writer will visit St. Francis Solano cemetery.
A walk or roll of some sort to take in local beauty, a trip to the beach, a baseball game or whatever mom prefers. Or cook for her. She won't care how good it is, just do it and she will love it.
Way back in 1872 Julia Ward Howe suggested June 2 be set aside to honor mothers in the name of world peace. It took until 1907 for Anna M. Jarvis to take up the campaign. Jarvis's mother organized 'Mother's Work Days' to save people dying from polluted water. Mother Jarvis taught at a church in Grafton, West Virginia and on May 10, 1908 a service was held to honor her, which set a precedent that the second Sunday in May be set aside to honor all mothers, living or not.
Bettina Rouas of Angèle restaurant in Napa offers a quote of Honoré de Balzac: 'The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.' Let's hope so.
If you choose to go somewhere, especially for a special meal, here are some suggestions. Keep in mind that we all have our own ideas of what 'a special meal' is.
Glen Ellen Fire Department Mother's Day Breakfast: Possibly the best pancake breakfast in Sonoma Valley, right in and around the downtown fire station, Sunday, May 13. Expect great flapjacks, sausage, fresh fruit, coffee, lots of flowers and much more. Mimosas and gin fizzes available This one is great fun even if you don't know anyone in Glen Ellen. $8 adults, $5 kids. 8 a.m. to noon. Support our firefighters.
Depot Hotel Restaurant: Brunch includes a glass of sparkling wine, a mimosa or orange juice. First course choices include berries with Jersey cow ricotta or Belgian Endive and watercress salad. Then choose between beef short rib hash, Dungeness crab cannelloni, salmon filet, eggs Benedict or zucchini lasagna, followed by house tiramisu, sour cream cheesecake, limoncello cake or torta Ghilarducci. $45 adults, $22 age 5 to 12. 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by regular menu. 241 First St. W., Sonoma. 938-2980. Depotsonoma.com.
Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn: Expect their famous buffets of tea sandwiches including southern style pimento cheese, scones, a smoked and cured fish table, Fra'mani charcuterie, abundant salads, chilled seafood, oysters and caviar, beef and ham carving stations, loads of entrées from shrimp and grits to English pea ravioli and rum brioche French toast, with mounds of desserts. $105 adults, $52.50 children 5 to 12 years, free under age 4. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 939-2407 for reservations.
Salt & Stone: For its first Mother's Day Brunch the restaurant offers fresh fruit and coffee cake for the table, lots of entrée selections from various eggs Benedicts, crème brûlée French toast, three eggs with choice o meat, Dungeness crab omelet, quiche with salad greens, duck leg confit Cobb salad, Shanghai chicken salad, lamb burger, or steak frites Juice and coffee included. $32.50 inclusive. 9900 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood. 833-6326. Saltstonekenwood.com.
Breakaway Café: Watch for a brunch menu of Dungeness crab and avocado toast with poached egg, corn flake crusted French toast with berries, and a prosciutto and asparagus quiche $13 to $16), plus pitchers of mimosas (no reservations for brunch). Dinner offers asparagus soup, choice of pan-seared scallops and summer squash risotto or herb roasted chicken with succotash and potato fondant. Pavlova with Watmaugh strawberries and seasonal fruit for dessert. $35. Wine pairing $15. Reservations for 5 to 8:30 p.m. 19101 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma. 996-5949.
Suite D: Suite D will have a Mother's Day buffet brunch with baguettes, fresh fruit salad, bagels and smoked salmon, croissants, pastries, hard boiled eggs, sliced cheeses and meats, loads of butter and jam, an omelet station, ham hash, potatoes, house cured bacon, juice, coffee and tea. Bloody Mary Bar with mimosas and sparkling wine ($5). $40 public, $34 social club members, $25 children under 13. Bring wine, $5 corkage. Seatings at 11 and 11:45 a.m., 1 and 2:45 p.m. 21800 Schellville Road, Suite D., Sonoma. 933-3000, ext. 10. Figsuited.com.
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