Are We There Yet?: Happy Mother's Day

My 8-year-old had a gift certificate for Where'd You Get That burning a hole in her pocket and her eye on some ridiculous toy. As we entered the store, I said to her, "You could use it to buy me a nice Mother's Day gift."

"Nope," she said cheerfully and skipped over to the gag gift section of the store where she had her eye on, of all things, a set of plastic handcuffs and fake police badge.

Nice.

Sometimes being a mother truly is a thankless job, even three days before Mother's Day. Luckily I'm here with some ideas for making it a fun weekend for the whole family.

On Saturday, May 10, there are two events in the morning. First, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the North Adams branch of Berkshire Bank, located at 37 Main St., is hosting a Family Day Open House to meet the new branch manager and enjoy some activities with the kids. Over at Carr Hardware at 179 State Road in North Adams, from 9 to 11 a.m. kids can come paint one terra cotta flower pot to (hopefully) then give to their mom. Both of these events are free.

Later in the day on Saturday, Ventfort Hall in Lenox is hosting its annual Victorian Pink Tea and Ballet celebration at 3:30 p.m. The ballet will be performed by the American Dance Institute Ensemble of Pittsfield directed by Sharon MacDonald and the Albany Berkshire Junior Ballet Company and the Cantarella School of Dance directed by Deidre Duffin Swindlehurst. Admission is $25 day of the event, $7 for children 5 to 17 and free for children 4 and younger. For reservations or further information call 413-637-3206 or log on to info@gildedage.org. Ventfort Hall is located at 104 Walker St.

Also at 3:30 p.m. Saturday is a DIY Kids event at the Berkshire Co-op in Great Barrington. In this workshop, Plastic Bottle Flowers, kids will be cutting up plastic bottles, making them into flowers and then painting them. Sign up with the co-op at 413-528.9697 or community@berkshire.coop.

On Sunday, May 11, since the weather is supposed to clear up, why not get outside between all of those gifts and gratitude you will be receiving?

From 10 a.m. to noon Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Lenox will feature Linda Cycz leading a leisurely walk and, along the way, pointing out the natural history of these lovely spring wildflowers and other signs of spring. The cost is $7 for adults; children are free. Registration not required. For more information, contact call 413-637-0320 or email berkshires@massaudubon.org.  From 1 to 3 p.m. Dyken Pond Environmental Center - just over the border in Cropseyville, N.Y. - will host a wildflower hike that will take moms throughout the center's trail systems to observe the many spring ephemerals in bloom this year. For details call 518-658-2055 or visit dykenpond.org.

I didn't need anything from the toy store anyway. You know what my favorite Mother's Day present is? A day alone!

Rebecca Dravis is the community editor at iBerkshires. She can be reached at rdravis@iberkshires.com.