Mother’s Day is just around the corner. The tradition in our house is to work on a project that I’ve really wanted to complete but no one else seems to be as excited about. One year we repainted the guest bath. Another year my poor husband spent about eight hours printing out photos in black and white for a photo collage I thought would only take about 45 minutes. (I think that was also the year my husband asked that I work on my time management skills as a Father’s Day present.)
While I think projects around the house are great, I have lots of Mom friends that have different ideas. Here are a few…
1. The most popular suggestion is help with house and yard work. At a school function one year, a little girl stood up in front of the class and stated that her Mom “LOVES to clean because she does it ALL the time.” I was sitting next to the Mom, she confirmed that no- she does not love it, but yes- she gets stuck doing it all the time.
2. Homemade gifts from the kids like hand/foot print pictures or coupon books for ‘one hug’ or ‘unload dishwasher’. Dad’s can get in on this one too, for example ‘whittle down the honey-do list’.
3. Cook for Mom. Several moms like the idea of taking the day off of cooking. Even getting breakfast in bed. That wouldn’t work as well in our house, my kids have my clumsiness and I envision cereal and milk all over the sheets…
4. Time to themselves. Glorious, uninterrupted quiet time to work on a project, read, catch up on the latest Real Housewives of Somewhere Else. A spa certificate also fits nicely into this time-to-themselves category for manicures, pedicures, massages or facials.
5. On the flip-side of the latter, my friends that have older kids would love Family time. Once kids have their driver’s license and/or a cell phone, time spent as a family becomes a scarce commodity.
I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day!
“Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.” ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul
