Rory Bore at Ink Interrupted hosts the Tuesday Coffee Chat, and this week she asks the question, It's my birthday and Mother's Day soon... what should I do?
First, train your children and husband that "one gift for both Mother's Day and your birthday" is not acceptable. It's not acceptable to give one gift to children born in December and make it count for birthday and Christmas, it's not acceptable here either.
If i sound touchy about that, it's because Grandma's birthday is always right around Mother's Day, and i have always been very careful to give her two cards and two gifts, and trained my children to do the same.
When i had a godchild who was born in December, i made sure she got two cards and two gifts, even if i only saw her with the family at Christmas.
No one should be cheated out of a separate gift because of the proximity of another holiday!
Now that that's off my chest, the real question is what do you want to do? If you want a weekend away with friends, i hope you get it. If you want a massage, tell the family (and let them know that the massage is one gift, the mani-pedi can be the other gift). Whatever you love, i hope you can find a way to get it (or something close to it, i understand budget constraints when you are raising a family).
Give yourself a gift, too. It's one i didn't spend enough time giving myself when my kids were younger, and i wish i could have. Give yourself the gift of taking each child alone and going and doing something together that only the two of you enjoy together. Do this as often as you can. It can be as simple as playing a board game that you only play with the one child who likes that game, or taking the one who adores cheesecake above all other desserts out for dessert for just the two of you. It doesn't have to be expensive, it does have to be planned (part of your Left Brain's gift to you can be making sure you can get away to do this.)
(Note, you can gift him the time to do the same with each of the children. This is something you will cherish, and so will they. Trust me.)
One lady i read about enjoyed it thoroughly when her husband said, "No overpriced and overcrowded buffet for us on Mother's Day -- I'm cooking!" He did, too, a big BBQ, he and the children did it all, down to covering the plates with foil so they could just throw the foil away and not have to wash dishes! Get the family cooking while you sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labors if you want a night (or two, remember, two gifts!) off from the kitchen duty.
No matter what you decide to do, though, i wish you many happy returns of your birthday and a lovely Mother's Day.
Today is:
Europe Day -- European Union
Independence Day -- Romania (1877, from the Ottoman Empire)
Lawn Mower Day -- a rotary blade mower was patented this day in 1899
Lemuralia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (first of 3 non-consecutive days dedicated to getting rid of the spirits of the malevolent dead; rituals performed today, the 11th, and the 13th)
Liberation Day -- Guernsey; Jersey
Lost Sock Memorial Day -- they go to the hozone layer!
National Butterscotch Brownie Day
National Teacher Appreciation Day -- US
Olympieia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (spring festival for Zeus; date approximate)
Remembrance for Gudrod of Gudbrandsdal -- Slavic Pagan/Asatru (pagan martyr)
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Fairies Founded -- Fairy Calendar
St. Beatus of Lungern's Day (Apostle of Switzerland)
St. Nicholas Albergati's Day (Patron of learning)
Tear Tags Off of Mattresses Day -- yes, you can! If you bought it, you're allowed to.
Victory Day / Victory and Peace Day -- countries that didn't celebrate V-E day yesterday, mostly Russia and former SSR's
Xotira va Qadirlash Kuni -- Uzbekistan (Day of Remembrance and Honors)
Birthdays Today:
Rosario Dawson, 1979
Steve Yzerman, 1965
Tony Gwynn, 1960
Billy Joel, 1949
Candice Bergen, 1946
James L. Brooks, 1940
Charles Simic, 1938
Glenda Jackson, 1937
Albert Finney, 1936
Glenda Jackson, 1936
Richard Alonzo “Pancho” Gonzales, 1928
Mike Wallace, 1918
Howard Carter, 1873
J.M. Barrie, 1860
Belle Boyd, 1843
John Brown, 1800
Today in History:
The first battle recorded with what is considered historic accuracy and detail, the Battle of Megiddo between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Kadesh, BC1457
Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his 4th and final voyage, 1502
Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England's Crown Jewels from the Tower of London, 1671
British inventor Joseph Bramah patents beer-pump handle, 1785
The city of Reno, Nevada, is founded, 1868
The Vienna stock market crash (Der Krach) heralds the Long Depression, 1873
The first horse-drawn bus makes its début in the city of Mumbai, 1874
Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show opens in London, 1887
The first horseless carriage show in London opens, featuring 10 models, 1896
The lawn mower is patented, 1899
Australia opens its first parliament in Melbourne, 1901
The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine in Europe to exceed 100mph, 1904
The Australian Parliament first convenes in Canberra, 1927
Edgar Bergen and Charley McCarthy take to the airwaves, becoming an overnight radio sensation, 1937
Rainier III of Monaco becomes Prince of Monaco, 1949
Sam and Friends, with Jim Hensen and his muppets, debuts, 1955
The FDA announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill, 1960
Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000 member strong Jewish community of Iran, 1979
The South African parliament chooses Nelson Mandela as president, 1994
Estonia ratifies the European Constitution, 2006
A report reveals that hackers using fraudulent ATM cards in February, 2013, stole $45 million, 2013