So what is the BEST Mother’s Day Gift idea?
Instinctively, without reading any farther, you probably already know the answer to this.
If you think back to your own experience as a child, when you inevitably posed this question to your own mother, she replied with something like:
“I just want to spend time together as a family,” or “I would love one day when you kids got along with each other without bickering or fighting,” or “I’d love anything handmade by you.”
I chalk these up to tired mothers who knew that they wouldn’t get what they REALLY wanted, so they said the noble thing.
As someone for whom motherhood did not come easily (my husband and I struggled with infertility and multiple miscarriages), you’d think it would be enough for me just to be able to say, “I’m a mother.” And indeed, in my better moments, it IS enough.
But when the human side of me emerges, I must admit that most Mother’s Days have been disappointing because I didn’t get what I wanted.
What I would REALLY like for a Mother’s Day gift:
Which is this: to have one day when I don’t do everything I instinctively do as a mother every day, and NOT to have it look like I took the day off.
The day would look something like this:
1. We’d arrive at church as a family, all clean, well-groomed, happy, fed, and on time. I would be calm, collected, able to concentrate on the service and the words of each hymn and prayer, rejoicing in the blessings that God has given me.
I would have arrived in this state because I didn’t have to do a diaper change as we were heading out the door, deal with grumpy teen-agers, or make provisions for potential melt-downs during church.
2. We’d come home to a tidy house (no sports gear or doggy-do in the entry way, laundry done, folded and put away, mail reckoned with and properly stowed), ready to enjoy a hearty meal, gathered around the table in peace and joy.
3. There might be a gift or two for me to open. Ideally, it would be one I didn’t have to hint for (or purchase and wrap myself), but one that was selected based upon my family’s keen awareness of my interests, hobbies, and even needs (hint: scrapbooking supplies, a CD holder for the visor in the van, a book I’ve mentioned wanting to read).
4. My children would clean the kitchen (willingly and thoroughly) after the meal. Hey–I can dream, can’t I?
5. I’d have a few hours in the afternoon to spend on a leisurely pursuit (biking, reading, talking with my own mom).
~ That’s it! ~
Last year while doing the Mother’s Day postgame with a friend, I was struck by how similar our feelings were about this holiday. She reported having asked her children for a day when they got along without bickering, and her older child said, “Can’t we just to buy you something?”
My friend and I agreed that we want what is probably not realistic: a day off for good behavior… Maybe what we each want for the day is a wife!
>> Join in! What’s your ideal gift -or- the best gift you’ve ever given for Mother’s Day???
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