Families gather to celebrate mothers

Trula Ladreiter has seen a lot of Mother's Days.

The 90-year-old great-grandmother dined with her family Sunday at O'Charleys restaurant.

"We came last year, and liked it so well," Ladreiter said. She reported receiving "many" cards from her extended family, which includes two sons and their wives, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren

Her daughter, Nancy, agreed. Along with good service, she said the restaurant gave each mother a small bottle of lotion. "It was wonderful."

Before Trula's husband, Vernon, died 10 years ago, the family would hold Mother's Day festivities at her house and play croquet. Now, the family wants to make O'Charley's their tradition. "We have so much fun as a family," Nancy said. "We just love to get together."

Another family from Jackson had Mother's Day lunch at nearby Cracker Barrel. Lynn McNally, mother of four, had no idea of the surprise she would be getting after the family left the restaurant.

House-cleaning provided

"The kids and I are sending her out shopping," said her husband, Shawn. "And we're going to clean the house."

Lynn's 4-year-old daughter, Maria, planned on giving her mother flower seeds, and two of her older daughters, Molly and Jackie, had created handmade magnets.

"The kids look forward to it more than she does," said Shawn. "For weeks ahead of time, they've been asking how long until Mother's Day."

Lynn said that while she enjoyed spending time with her close family and her husband's parents, this day wasn't anything different than the usual. "We're a close family," she said. "We're not the type that only gets together on holidays. We take any excuse, so today's not too different."

Across town, Marla Benton of Cape Girardeau celebrated her first Mother's Day at Capaha Park. She and her family -- her husband, Doug, two grandparents, two sisters, nephews and "the star of the show," 9-month-old Emma -- were spending the day picnicking, feeding the ducks and fishing.

Both Emma and her mother were sporting new necklaces, presents for the holiday.

"It's important to just be with the family and spend time with my mother, and my sisters, who came down from St. Louis just for today," said Marla. "It's just nice to relax. I'm looking forward to future Mother's Days."

nstanfield@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127