Mother’s day seems like such a simple concept on the surface but for some reason it seems to trip us guys up more than it should. Today we’re going to share some of our best and worst experiences & ideas to help us not just survive Mother’s day but excel! Our verse for the day is from Proverbs 31:28 which says:
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her
Getting Mother’s day right is more than just about not getting in trouble with our wife and mother. It’s about loving them in the way they want & need to be loved so that they are more at peace. It is about being a thoughtful leader in our house and understanding what is needed most for our family to thrive. It is about genuinely honoring those who brought us and our children into this world and provided nurturing, loving care. At the heart of the day, it is all about love.
Women think about Mother’s Day very differently than men think about Father’s Day. We are very happy if we are just left alone for most of the day and maybe allowed to play a guilt-free round of golf. For women, it’s more than that. Having never been a woman or a mother, I can only speak with a certain level of confidence on this topic but it seems like there are a few common desires shared by mothers on their special day:
- They want to spend time with their children but not as the care-giver; they want their children to dote on them and someone else to perform the care & feeding for one day
- They want someone to cook a nice meal
- Flowers and jewelry are always winners
- Until the children are beyond a certain age, wives expect their husbands to coordinate Mother’s day activities as well as the production of some hand-made gifts
- No cooking, washing, or cleaning for a day
Simple, right? Sort of, but you can still mess it up. It isn’t enough to just go out to eat…..you need to go to her favorite restaurant. It isn’t enough for her not to have to clean or do laundry if it is just piling up for her to do the next day. It doesn’t take a huge amount of planning but it does take some. The good news is that the return-on-investment is very high! Here are some questions to help us get Mother’s day right this year:
- Do you agree that we think of Father’s Day differently than women think of Mother’s day? If so, in what ways?
- If we get Mother’s day right, what are the direct and indirect positive effects on our wife & family?
- What are some good Mother’s day ideas you’ve had in the past or are planning to use this year?
- This is the flip-side of the last question – what are some things we should really try to avoid on Mother’s day?
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