I may be a great mom, but this Mother's Day I was a lousy daughter/ daughter-in-law. We were supposed to go out of town to visit my in-laws and planned to take my mother-in-law to a lovely brunch for Mother's Day.My in-laws are currently residing at an extended stay inn as they wait for their house to be completed.
Why are my well-to-do in-laws doing living out of a pay-by-week establishment like common car thieves or drug dealers when they could have just stayed at their old house for a few more weeks, you ask... Just know that it's a long story that gets more and more ridiculous as time goes on and causes me to sigh loudly and throw my hands up in the air... not my family. not my family. not my family.
The last thing they needed was more stuff and since apparently they have been living on hot dogs lately, we figured that a nice brunch would be an appreciated gesture. Still, I pressed my husband for more gift ideas-- a scarf, a book, anything...
The best he came up with was PISTACHIOS! Yes, nuts... because they are her favorite snack and therefore must also make a great gift (?) I think he's nuts. Well, he was dead set on getting her a bag of pistachios.
Hey, it's his mom, right? Now do you understand why I insist on buying my own gifts? He certainly means well, but isn't that just typical?
Well, at the last minute, my husband decided that there was "too much on his plate" and he didn't "really feel like going" this weekend and that was Mother's Day Gift enough for me.
It's not that I didn't want to see my in-laws. We weren't going to have much time with them anyway, since we planned to arrive just in time for our niece's first birthday party, would be staying at a hotel that night, then leaving right after lunch the next day. In fact, I'm a little bummed out to miss the party.
It's that most of our friends knew we were heading out of town for the weekend, so it's totally been a weekend for me, me, me -- no e-mails, no phone calls, no previous commitments... Just time to relax and sleep in with my little family.
Unfortunately, my husband neglected to send the card I had purchased for his mom weeks ago...
"I was planning to give it to her in person. She'll understand," he says.
Well, I felt like a COMPLETE ASS when in the mail yesterday afternoon arrived a card and a check from his mom to me. It was strictly for me to spend on myself; not baby clothes, not toys, not playtime music. She knows me well...
Unlike my in-laws, my family is pretty lax on gift giving. We send cards every once in a while, but no one really expects it or stands on ceremony. With the exception of Christmas, we tend to buy stuff for one another as it is needed/wanted, not just because
Since I wasn't planning on seeing my parents this weekend, I knew my mom would just let me know when she thought of something she'd like. Hey, no judging. That's just the way we are and it works.
So here I am, on Mother's Day neither having bought a gift nor sent a card to either mother, but am surprisingly well-rested. Instead of changing out of my pajamas and fighting the crowds for some over-priced brunch, I sent my husband and son to get bagels and coffee, which I plan to eat in bed.
Happy Mother's Day... to me.
1 comment:
*BIG HUGS*
I remember one Mother's Day...not only was hubby out of town...but he sent flowers to his mom. His mom, and that's because I reminded him.
Wouldn't have been bad, except come Mother's day, I didn't receive anything. Not even a "Happy Mother's day, thank you for braving carrying a watermelon for 9 months" call.
And when I did receive flowers....it was several days, and with a phone call from him asking when was mother's day again? *Hitting head on table*
I think we need to tell them that Mother's Day is actually a football team that they forget to remember to memorize...maybe then they will get it straight or they may ask where's the cheerleaders?
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