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My mother is 98. Her teeth are black. She shuffles along on her own, but her mind wanders: one minute we are in my hometown as a child and the next we are somewhere she visited in Canada. But she knows we are going to a restaurant to eat and that it is mother's day. She is happy. So what else counts?

granola. black coffee. Eat an occasional pie and ice cream when you need the energy. DONT eat in terminal restaurants. The worst of the worst. Maybe if you get lucky there'll be a small restaurant nearby where you can get a decent burger or salad or both. If you want to go vegetarian, then pack your own food and grab fresh stuff at the closest supermarket. The driver can tell you this if you ask. Take water.

Canned green beans

doovers for me too!

If you simply want a cooked chicken breast, brown the poor critter lightly over medium heat on both sides. Of course the middle will not be done because, despite what you might have been told, chicken takes a bit of time to cook. So add a few tablespoons of chicken broth (Swanson's Organic is best for my money, and let it simmer (ie on low heat), covered with a pot lid that is a reasonable fit for your pan, for about 6 minutes. It will be juicy and tasty, and not dry and nasty, and you can add some spinach and a bit of fennel to the juices and have some veggies on the side. Or you can stuff the breast, the fennel, and the spinach into a tin can that still has a lid, add a spoon or two of water, push the lid down to cover it and throw it in a fire of sticks. It will be done in twenty minutes and can be quite tasty if you turn the can every now and then to make sure all sides share in the heat.

^5 @ psychsarah! Sounds like a terrific day. Glad it went as smoothly as it did. You must have eaten at a very well run restaurant that didn't overbook and underestimate meal timing.

During the text exchange between my daughter and me, I told her, "Be patient! It's going to be a non-stop day." She responded, "Mom, that's EVERY day here..." So she was prepared for the throng. Our neighbors across the street went to Olive Garden and I'm curious to know how that went.

@foodiemama - congrats on a great MD!

BF cooked dinner and wanted me to take it easy in front of the TV. Eventually he needed a tiny bit of help with the phyllo/manchego/mushroom pastries.

Me: "Would you like some help?
BF: "That depends...you want to eat today?"

(ROFLMAO)

It was a good day, despite the potential for it being very difficult for me.

Unfortunately, there's several hundred miles between my mother and I. Usually MD was a chance for me to wow her with some fantastic breakfast recipe and we would spend the day just enjoying each other's company--going to a movie, etc. We rarely, if ever, went out that I can remember. Anyway, this year I sent her some quince de membrillo, which I know she will love, and called. It's not the same, but I think the expression of love and appreciation, however you do it, is what counts the most. It's not a black and white 'restaurant or home-cooked meal question'.

I guess we lucked out... For the first time ever my brother and I took my mom out for lunch today (Mother's Day) and we had a great experience. The restaurant had a great menu of specials, the food was hot and tasty, the service was good, we walked right in a few minutes before our reservation and were seated right away. We weren't rushed out, and my mom loved the little box of chocolates she was given by the waiter when we paid the bill. I had concerns that things would be busy and crappy as described above, but logistics did not permit cooking for Mom today, so I'm thanking my lucky stars it went so smoothly!

I didn't mean it as a slight to your thread

No worries! Didn't take it that way. :D

My daughter works at Chili's and is working a double today. She called me earlier to wish me HMD. She texted me immediately after and said, "I hate that I can't be there today :[" I returned by saying, "We will get together next week, it doesn't have to be exactly on MD to be special." (This is especially poignant because we were estranged for several years. This is the first Mother's Day I'm not wishing away at lightning speed.)

I lost my mother a year ago this month. Whether Mother's Day means taking mom out to dinner, prepping dinner for her, sharing ice cream cones in the evening or a long-distance phone call from too far away - Make it happen. Give her a big squeeze while she's here. Even if you think you already to a lot for your mother - do more. There's no big enough "thank you" in the world to fully acknowledge that herculian act - bringing you into the world.

^yeah, I didn't mean it as a slight to your thread at all--but just that for a lot of people, going out to eat is the best option, unless you can really make an environment that is low-stress for mom and truly special, like a family get-to-gether, rather than having her stress out watching her family ruin all of her cooking supplies for the one meal they cook all year, or making her something elaborate that they like but she doesn't.

I know some Italian people my age who swear they NEVER saw mom or grandma sit down to eat any of the elaborate family meals they made at home!