The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift: What the Mama in your Life Really Wants

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Attention all those looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift for those special moms in your life; I know just what you’re looking for!

While flowers are always appreciated, going out to dinner is a good bet, and homemade cards from your kids are priceless, there is one Mother’s Day gift that tops all of these.

Mother's Day gift flowers

I am happy to say that my husband knew what it was without me ever saying anything. Last year, he gave me the perfect Mother’s Day gift.

So, what is it, you ask?!

An entire day to myself!

This wasn’t just a couple of hours my husband gifted me, it was a full day!

He shared his plan with me a week and a half ahead of time so I could think about what I wanted to do. We decided that it would happen the day before Mother’s Day, as we wanted to spend the actual holiday together as a family of 4.

The plan went off without a hitch. On that Saturday, my husband loaded the kids in the car around 8 am and drove over to my in-law’s house. He did not return with our children until 7:30 pm when it was time to put the kids in their beds. This means that I had almost a full twelve hours to myself. In my own home. Alone. How often does that happen when you are a parent? That’s right, it rarely ever happens.

So did I go to the spa? Buy myself a whole new wardrobe? Go out with friends? Sleep all day long?

Before I tell you what I did, I should inform you that my children were ages 5 and 2 last year. So, as a mother, what I was really looking forward to were the simple things. What excited me most about my perfect Mother’s Day gift was that it meant:

1) Going to the bathroom without little people following me or banging on the door needing something every five seconds.

Why is it that they are totally fine amusing themselves until the moment I have to go?

2) Watching any show or listening to any music I want without vetting what I am exposing my children to.  

My daughter didn’t nap consistently. I was lucky if I finished an episode of This is Us while folding laundry during her quiet time.

3) Not having anyone else to cook for or a pile of dishes to do after meals.

This is liberating in so many ways!

4) Getting a workout in without having to press pause to find my children a snack.  

It does not matter if the kids had breakfast five minutes prior to my video exercise routine, they always want a snack when I work out.

5) Being able to clean something and have it stay clean for more than a few minutes.

This allowed me to stand and admire my work when I wanted to.

6) Having the opportunity to take a long shower and wash all the soap out of my hair without worrying about needing to address any type of temporary tragedy.

I am sure you’ve been there, too.

7) Being able to read more than one chapter of a book at a time.

Read? Something other than a children’s book? Is that allowed?

8) Eating without having to share the food on my plate.

This includes dessert. I can have all of my chocolate. All by myself!

I am apparently old and boring and this is what my life as a parent has come to. I get a little too excited about all of these things I used to take for granted before I had children.

Keeping all of that in mind, here’s what I accomplished in those 12 hours. I:

  • went to Zumba class without having to worry about rushing home afterward.
  • visited the shoe store to try on new running shoes without having to worry what displays my daughter was pulling apart.
  • did lots of laundry because I couldn’t take looking at the piles mountains of dirty clothing any longer.
  • went right to work on spring cleaning my living room. I even mopped under the area rug, which hadn’t been done in quite some time.
  • worked outside and gardened.
  • mopped the kitchen and cleared a cluttered hallway so I could vacuum and get every last dust bunny out of the corners of the room.
  • organized the entire mudroom and vacuumed up all the dirt I could find.

After all that, I still had time left, so I began spring cleaning the playroom and binged watched 3 hours of my favorite tv shows because I could.

It is amazing what twelve hours to myself did for me.

Twelve hours to breathe, to do things I enjoyed and still make time for household tasks that had been piling up and making me feel pressured.

mom relaxing as her mother's day gift

My perfect Mother’s Day gift helped my parenting battery to recharge.

When my family came home, I welcomed them with open arms. I was amazingly patient as my overtired children prepared for bed, and I didn’t lose my temper once. I felt calm and relaxed and, for the first time in a long time, not stressed.

A day to myself was my perfect Mother’s Day gift. I may not have done anything overly exciting; even my son was unimpressed when I shared what I did with my day. However, I would not have changed a thing.

If you’re looking for something to give that special mom in your life this Mother’s Day, think about the gift of alone time at home. I’m sure it will go over spectacularly!

To the moms out there, if you were given the perfect Mother’s Day gift, what would it be?

 

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