Happy Mother's Day

Linda and I had been married only 6 months when our first Mother’s Day rolled around. So not only was I new at knowing what to do on Mother’s Day, I was new at knowing what to do as a husband. The day passed by quietly and as we were watching television at around 11 o’clock that night, Linda politely but firmly informed me that I hadn’t wished her a happy Mother’s Day. I replied by telling her that she wasn’t my mother. She countered by telling me that she had brought a beautiful one-year old boy into our marriage that I was now the father of and it would always be my responsibility to speak for my child or children until they got old enough to do it themselves. Since my only experience up until then on Mother’s Day was with my own mother, her logic made sense to me, I wished her a happy Mother’s day and promised her I would never forget my role on Mother’s Day again.

She was obviously much more serious about the issue than I had been so I was bound and determined to show her that her special days meant as much to me as my own did so I formulated a plan. There were two days out of the year that were meant only for her, Mother’s Day and her birthday, and two days that were meant only for me. So on her first birthday with me after our marriage, I surprised her with croissants I had baked for her in the oven, orange marmalade to put on the croissants and her own personal carafe of coffee to wash the croissants down with. I could tell by her response that I had accidentally done everything just right so I decided that’s how I would start each of her two special days every year. The rest of the day was totally up to her. If she wanted to spend the whole day in the bedroom reading with the door closed, then that’s what she did. If she wanted to go out to eat or to a movie, that’s what we did. These were HER days and I wanted them to be perfect from start to finish.

Linda was an intelligent woman and she quickly realized that if enjoyed those days, I would too so she returned the favor on Father’s Day and my birthday. We had two more children in addition to the one she brought into our marriage and we were both very careful to tell them and show them that people have special days during the year and on those special days, their every wish should be granted. So while our children were young, I would take them with me to the grocery store or the gift shop and allow them to pick out exactly what they wanted to give mom. Those of you who are parents know that children never make mistakes when picking out cards or gifts for their parents because every selection is perfect and every selection is kept forever. So they would choose what they wanted mom to have, I would pay for it and the boys would present it to her on her special day.

We found that this cemented the relationship she and I had perhaps more than anything else could have because it made us close as a family and that closeness has endured to this day. We treat our boys special on their days and they treat us the same way on ours. The love, commitment, and dedication to each other never goes away.

So as we approach Mother’s Day on Sunday, I think it would be a good idea if you developed your own special way to treat your wife. It builds love, compassion, and understanding because the wives know they are being treated in special ways that most mothers aren’t and that makes you special.

And when both people are special in each other’s eyes, it adds greatly to the loving relationship they’re already in.