I'm not supposed to be happy today.

Charlie came downstairs this morning and said, "I just woke up Mommy and gave her all of her Mother's Day presents."

"I wish you had waited," I said, thinking that Elysha had probably wished the same thing. As cute as Charlie may be, opening his presents at 6:40 AM was probably not what she had envisioned when she planned her day. "I wanted to be there when you gave her your presents," I added. "To take pictures. And I haven't even seen your presents yet. You hid them so fast that I didn't have a chance to look at them."

Charlie groaned. Rolled his eyes. Shook his head in disgust. "Dad, it's Mother's Day. I don't have to make you happy today. You have your own day to be happy. It's called Father's Day. And it will happen someday. But you're not allowed to be happy every day. Don't you know that?"

I've apparently been far too ambitious with my life goals, at least according to my son. 

I guess there's something to be said for a low bar. 

I may be relegated to unhappiness and despair today (at least according to Charlie), but I hope that all you mothers out there have a happy, happy Mother's Day. 

After almost getting my wife nothing on Mother's Day, it turns out that I gave her a lot. The list is extraordinary.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms of the world, and especially my wife, Elysha, the best mother I have ever known.

Please remember, mothers, that there's an apostrophe in Mother's Day, meaning it's your day. Don't let anyone else's expectations interfere with your desire to do whatever the hell you want.

It's your day, damn it.

My thoughts also go out to those of us who have lost our mothers, oftentimes making this day bittersweet at best.

I know it's bittersweet for me. 

My plan for Mother's Day was to give my wife VIP tickets to the upcoming Duran Duran concert this summer. Months ago, I asked her what band from her youth would she like to see most, and she said - almost immediately - Duran Duran.

Seconds before clicking the buy button on the tickets, I decided to check with Elysha in order to confirm that we had nothing planned on the date of the concert. It's a date close to our anniversary, and I wasn't sure if our our plans would overlap the concert. 

That was when I learned that she had no desire to see Duran Duran.

Two days before Mother's Day and now without a Mother's Day gift, I panicked.

Now it's Mother's Day morning, and I still have nothing. 

Well, almost nothing.

  • It's approaching 9:00 AM and she's still asleep. This is not uncommon in our home, but I know many mother's who would kill for this. I'm taking credit. 
  • I swept and mopped the basement stairs. This is a monthly chore that I don't think Elysha even knows exists. It's a pain in the ass, and I'm pretty sure that in the eight years we have been in this house, I'm the only one who has ever done it. Doing a chore for eight years without any acknowledgement is worth at least one-half of a Mother's Day present. 
  • I emptied the trashcan and replaced the bag. I often don't replace the bag, because after bringing the garbage all the way to the can, the 14 steps required to put a new bag in the can seems inconsequential to me.  
  • I negotiated a truce in two sibling wars over toys while she slept. 
  • I bought and hid five Mother's Day cards for her around the house. Each one includes clever commentary, including post-it note warnings, a critique of domestic violence, a Clara-induced error, and a warning against clutter.   
  • I bought her five large plastic bins for her sewing paraphernalia. One might argue that this is a git more for me than her, since I'm the one who can't stand to see the sewing stuff all over the house, but these bins will help organize her stuff and make her husband much happier, so that's a double win for her.    
  • I didn't purchase a new sexy Princess Leia costume to replace the one I bought for her years ago but has apparently been misplaced since I never saw her wear it even once.  

I guess I'm not doing so poorly after all.

We'll also be visiting The Eric Carle Museum and taking a walk in North Hampton later today, and we agreed that she could just find something that she wanted there. 

It's not quite the surprise of Duran Duran tickets or the awesomeness of a sexy Princess Leis costume, and in retrospect, she's already received a lot. 

But it's a good idea nonetheless.  

The perfect Mother’s Day gift or the worst Mother’s Day gift of all time? I’m not sure.

I bought my wife a cookbook for Mother’s Day. It was a book that my daughter and son were going to give her as their gift.

I was extremely proud of my choice of book. It was written by a woman whose blog I know she loves. I was also recommended by the bookstore as an excellent Mother’s Day gift.

smitten kitchen

I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when she opened her gift.

Yesterday afternoon I saw her using the same book to make a cake.

It turns out she already owns the book.

Not only does she own the book, but it is the only book that she has ever preordered.

She has also seen the author speak.

Her book is even signed by the author.

She could not own this book any more than she already does.

I’m not sure if this news should make me happy because I clearly chose the perfect gift had she not owned it already, or if I should feel like a fool for buying her a book that is apparently in her hands at least a few times every week.