Mother's Day at the Stevens with the Tawaras

Ayumi can swing all by herself at the playground outside our building, but she prefers Stan-san to push her! We were delighted that Hiroshi and some of his family could join us for a cookout on Mother's Day. We found out that this day is also celebrated in Japan. Mothers are given a present (blouse, hat, scarf) with carnations on top of the box. They were surprised to hear that most American mothers are usually taken out to eat, and of course, we told them about the rose tradition in the Southern US -- wear a red rose for a living mother, and a white one for a deceased mother. He commented that Southern US is very much like Japan -- in manners and traditions.