Marriage Actually - An honest look at marriage

Happy Mother’s Day! Love, Your Husband

by Bald Man on May 14th, 2007

Yesterday was Mother’s Day here in the ex-Colonies, and it’s got me in the frame of mind to ask a question of all you husbands and fathers of little ones:

What, if anything, do you do on Mother’s Day on behalf of your little children?

It’s an interesting time, those first few years of motherhood. Motherhood is fresh and new and full of joys. It is also exhausting and heart wrenching and full of tears. We have three children six and under, and none of them - not one! came with an instruction manual. You’d think we could catch a break and find a few similarities between them, but no. No. Aside from a few mechanics, such as diapers and dinner, you’d be hard pressed to prove our children were siblings such are their differences.

And Kerri, God bless her generous and sometimes exhausted soul, is home every hour of every day with all three of them.

So, it only seems appropriate in my mind that they get her something to show their appreciation. Cute only goes so far! Problem is they’re not so good with the shopping thing. Lacking a driver’s license, money, an understanding of money, and in one case the ability to speak full sentences makes shopping really difficult.

So, at this tender age, Mother’s Day shopping, if it is to occur, falls to dad. What do you do? Or, do you not do anything? I think most dad’s do get something for mom on behalf of the wee ones, but I spoke with one friend recently who doesn’t buy his wife anything on behalf of their almost two year old. To be fair, they’re not a big gift couple, so this isn’t necessarily the travesty it might seem to some.

In the interest of full disclosure I should tell you two things.

The first thing is that gifts are a big deal around here. If you are familiar with the “Five Love Languages,” an idea which will be explored in more depth here at a later time, then you’ll understand when I say receiving gifts is 100% Kerri. It is without a doubt her natural love language.

The second thing is that despite knowing the first thing for nigh on a decade now, I am still hit or miss when it comes to gift giving occasions. Receiving gifts is not one of my dominant love languages, so it can be hard to effectively “speak” to Kerri sometimes. I’ve hit some home runs over the years, but I’ve also struck out pretty badly, too.

So to my question: What is your opinion on acting as proxy for your children on Mother’s Day? How does it work in your home?

images: sad baby | flower

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