Mother Knows Best: A Self-Gifting Guide for a Foolproof Mother’s Day
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Mother’s Day. That long-awaited, treasured Sunday in May when you arise from bed past 8am, your children behave like perfect angels, and the house stays miraculously clean from sun-up to sundown. Your significant other dotes on you and treats you like the queen that you are. Heck, even the family dog is on his best behavior. Your Mother’s Day runs like a movie on the Hallmark Channel. It’s bliss. Or maybe not.
For some moms, if not most, this day of maternal recognition might roll out just a pinch less than perfect. While you may have your eyes set on living out the dream scenario, rom-com prize, the reality of your Mother’s Day might be better received on Bravo TV. You may wake up delirious at 6am sharp to the alarm-level exuberance of your young spawn delivering a bedside slab of burnt toast. Parched post consumption, you might stagger out of bed in search of coffee only to stumble halfway down the hallway on a pile of the tiniest of Legos. Your husband hollers, “you ok?” from the lavatory where he’s been for the last half hour and you assure him you’re perfectly fine through clenched teeth and despite a throbbing middle toe. Surviving the next 25 feet to the kitchen where you’ll make your own cup o’ joe, you may peer over you World’s Best Mom mug and discover the homemade gift Fido made you on the living room carpet in honor of this most special of occasions. Sigh… your Mother’s Days typically don’t run like the Hallmark movie you’ve been looking forward to all year. But you know what? That’s ok.
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In fact, it is ALL GOOD. Mother’s Day is a celebration of you as a mom and all of the wonderful and not so wonderful gifts of parenting that come along with the role. It’s what you signed up for when you decided to become a superhero. It is the most challenging job you will ever have but it is by far the most rewarding and you’ve handled it all with grace—for the most part. That is why you deserve to treat yourself. You know you best and ultimately know what will serve as the most fitting payoff for your dedicated, familial service. You have enjoyed so many momentous occasions with your kids that you beam with pride and teary eyes when you reflect on what got you to this special day. But you’ve also been pooped, peed and barfed on through the years. Willingly. Hold on to that tight, Mom. It’s time to claim your conciliatory prize. Bravo TV.
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Top 5 Gifts to Gift Yourself
Manicure/Pedicure: Pass by the cheap place you hit next to the grocery store and indulge in the fancy, organic combo that comes with rose petals in the foot tub, a neck massage and lavender tea. Say yes to the face mask and drift away from the to-do list.
Plant/Tree: Cut flowers are great. Until they die. Plant a tomato plant, fresh herbs, or something floral in your garden for a gift that keeps on giving long after Mother’s Day has passed. No garden, no problem. Fill a lonely corner in your home with something lush and green.
Adventure: Dreaming of taking an art class, learning how to drive a motorcycle, or skydive? There’s a million reasons to keep a wild adventure in its dream status, but let Mother’s Day be the one reason you turn it into a reality.
Day off: Commit to leaving the office (your home) and enjoy a day of just you. Go for a hike, lay by a pool, or read a trashy book at a lunch place the family can’t stand… Take some time to do something solo and enjoy an easy reset.
Volunteer: Not every mom has it as good as you do. Help a mom in need in any way you can. Watch her kids if she’s working, donate pass-along clothes from your closet and the kids, or treat her to the manicure/pedicure. We all know how hard it is to be a mom. Make it easier in one way or another for a mom who has it just a little bit harder.