We get all kinds of promotional items here at the newspaper. My section for some reason seems to attract some very interesting items. I have recieved cereal samples, dry cleaning promotionals and various others. With Mother’s Day coming up, I knew I would soon be getting national ads from florists, candy companies, etc. But here is my favorite so far.

Titled &uot;A face your mother will love,&uot; laying on my desk is an offer from the Save the Manatee Club. For a very reasonable price you can adopt a manatee for your mom. Actually the sentence reads, &uot;Show you mom how much you care by adopting a manatee in her name.&uot;

Now before all the animal activist in town go crazy let me say that I love animals. We have two dogs, two cats and have been known to feed every stray in town.

But in all sincerity, I am not going to be happy if, for my Mother’s Day gift, I get an animal whose name means &uot;Sea Cow.&uot;

That ranks right up there with an unrequested appliance for an anniversary. I once told my husband, David, that it was grounds for divorce to give me something that plugged in for an anniversary, birthday or Christmas gift, unless I specifically requested it. Of course that was the year a close friend of mine received a new iron for her birthday. She and her husband worked through that little rough spot. If I remember correctly it cost him a real nice vacation to mend his fences.

Anyway, back to Mother’s Day at my house. Right after church and hopefully being taken out to lunch, what I’m hoping for is an afternoon of uninterrupted work time in my yard. Just me and my little shovel digging in the dirt. And maybe someone (hint, hint) could just come outside once in awhile and bring me a refill on my Diet Coke. That’s my idea of a heavenly Mother’s Day, and do not even breathe the word manatee around me.

If you missed the production of &uot;Heaven Can Wait&uot; by the youth group at Jefferson Street Church you really missed a treat. The entire cast did a wonderful job. Hats off to Judge Hudson for another successful run.

n The Pilgrimage Garden Club will hold its annual flower show on Saturday, 3 to 5 p.m. at Twin Oaks.

n Don’t forget to buy your ticket for the annual Cathedral School Crawfish Countdown. This event is a lot of fun and an important fundraiser for the school. Make your plans to attend.

Christina Hall is the Lifestyle editor at the Democrat. She can be reached at 445-3549 or by e-mail at christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com