In advance of Mother’s Day, ten Madison women honored their mothers with a brunch tagged “Southern Girls Love Their Pearls … and Their Mothers” on May 2. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Ten Madison women honored their mothers the weekend before Mother’s Day with a brunch tagged “Southern Girls Love Their Pearls … and Their Mothers.”

Event organizer Beth Mumaw had dreamed about having a brunch with friends and their mothers at the beach. “I told a few friends, and they said let’s do this. Obviously, we didn’t go the beach.”

Karen and Sandy Morris hosted the brunch at the home on Bellingrath Drive on May 2.

Daughters and their mothers were Jennifer Flohr, Penny Faulkner; Kelley Grant, Pat Cross; Toni Johnson, Connie Blackwell; Darla Maleug, Ann Vincent of South Carrolton, Ky.; Amy May, Cleo Goddard; Amy Moore, Elaine Lowe; Karen Morris, Helen McBride; Beth Mumaw, Doris Mullins; Marie Newberry, Luz Edith Carlile; and Leigh Thomas, Jo Ann Frazier.

Mumaw’s mother, Doris Mullins, 88, was born in Cleveland, Ohio and lived part of her childhood in Belleville, Tenn. Mumaw’s father, Buddy Mullins, was born in Taft, Tenn. and raised in Belleville.

“My parents met at an ice cream social in Belleville after he returned from the Army,” Mullins said. “My parents moved to Madison in 1987 after my dad retired.”

Ann Vincent, Malueg’s mother, traveled the farthest at 240 miles from South Carrolton, Kentucky. Mothers ranged from 53 to 88 years old.

Dining al fresco, the women browsed buffet tables of sausage, bacon-and-egg and hash-brown casseroles; fruit salad with almond dip; shrimp and grits; ham-stuffed biscuits; blueberry-cherry muffins; croissants, Mimosas and Black Russian cake.

Leigh Thomas designed floral centerpieces. Each mother received candy from Whistle Stop Sweet Shop and a peach rose.

The daughters discussed a special moment or lesson with their mother. “A couple of mothers were single parents. One mother came to the United States from another country,” Mumaw said. “Their stories were very touching. Some tears were shed.”

“We all walked away with the feeling that no gift to your mother can ever equal her gift to your life,” Mumaw said. “It was absolutely the perfect day.”