Minnesota Mothers Honored At Flower Store, Cemetery
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The weather was perfect Sunday and it was perfectly-time for Mother's Day celebrations all over the state.
Kind of like peanut butter and jelly, flowers and Mother's Day just seem to go together and that's exactly what we found at an appropriately named flower shop. The owner tells us it is her absolute busiest weekend of the year and the weather played into that business perfectly.
We also found a father and daughter on the hunt, to treat all the women in their lives.
"I'm shopping for my aunts and grandmas and great aunts," Eric Ludwig of Minneapolis said. "We just liked the idea we could give that to them, we could plant them, and something they can take care of and watch grow just like they did for us. We thought it's symbolic, that's kind of what we were thinking."
We saw so many smiles and hugs today but as some of you may understand, we also saw some tears.
From the distance it was a picture perfect Mother's Day in the Twin Cities. But up close, not all the balloons, the gatherings and the baskets came with smiles.
David Nelson of Coon Rapids stood surrounded by family this Mother's Day. He talked about his wife, Rosalie as he stood by her grave.
"She didn't preach a lot, she lived by example and you can't beat that," Nelson said. It's his second Mother's Day without Rosalie, his bride of 57 years, mother to six, grandmother to 19 and great-grandmother to four.
David said as he stood with family, "She gave a speech when she was only 16 years old and the name of her speech which was 'The Bible, my textbook for life,'" Nelson said.
He said she would want them to be together on this holiday. And they were, family surrounded her grave, with some tears and some laughs.
And together they did honor their beloved matriarch, as did so many others at Hillside Cemetery.
A place Kelli Larson never imagined this Mother's Day would bring her to.
"It's so raw and it's so new and holidays are incredibly difficult and it's kind of our first holiday without her, so it's hard it's also a happy day," Kelli Larson of Fridley said. "It's supposed to be a happy day. It's supposed to be a happy day, it's hard to be happy when she's not here."
Her beloved mother Barb, a giver in life, died in March after battling sickness, she would have been 50 May 6. Of her mother, also a grandmother, she says, "She would want everyone to know how happy life can be if we take time to listen and see it."
She shared this link with WCCO on her mother's mission of giving, one the family will continue.
Kelli says sitting next to the grave seems to help, "You have that connection, I'm right here and she's right there and we're close," Larson said.
And that's the thing about being on this side of Mother's Day. Even if you can't see their faces anymore, there's just something about having that beloved mom at your side.
We want to say thank you to those families who so warmly welcomed us to tell their mother's stories today. And hope all of you enjoy this gorgeous Mother's Day.