Thank You 4: Mother's Day

My husband surprised me with my mother's day gift yesterday.  Mother's Day fell on graduation weekend and we had so much going on that we knew Mother's Day was going to get pushed to the back burner, at least until the summer.  But it had been so long I thought he had forgotten about it.

Nope.

We had finally gotten our son down for a nap after a very eventful day at the North pool and were simply taking some time for ourselves.  He asked me if I wanted my mother's day present now (honestly, are there people who say no to this type of question?) and went downstairs to retrieve it.

A bit of back story while he's downstairs: 95% of the time I'm okay with being cheap.  But there's this one tiny little thing that I do to pamper myself, and it's get my eyebrows shaped.  It's not exactly pampering - it doesn't feel great - but it is definitely something I don't need.  I don't spend money on this luxury - instead I ask for gift cards at Christmas and use them every few months until they are out.  I have been known to spend 3 eyebrow shapings worth on a pedicure (the ULTIMATE luxury!), but, as those are SO expensive and unnecessary, it doesn't happen often.

He comes back upstairs and gives me a gift card worth enough to do WHATEVER I want!  I could get a pedicure AND a manicure AND get my eyebrows shaped.  I could get my eyebrows shaped several times.  I could get a pedicure twice with money to spare.  When I asked him why it was so much, he said he wanted me to do whatever I wanted before my trip.

I'm going on a girls trip without him.  I'm spending money.  I'm leaving him in complete charge of our son.  I'm going to be having fun doing things I know he would love to be doing while he's at home.  I'm going to get to spend time with adults.  I'm going to get to eat at fun restaurants and see fun shows while he's watching Super Why and making PB & J.  And throughout the conceiving and planning of this entire trip, he has said "Go.  Don't worry about us, don't worry about the money, just go - we will be fine."  Not one mention of all the work this creates for him.

Translation: more evidence of what I have known since that summer at camp when we were 16.  This is the most caring, loving, giving man I could have ever found.  He is the true manifestation of what it means to put others first.  He serves faithfully and without question.  And the older we have gotten, and the more responsibilities we've taken on, the more fiercely committed he has become to the things he loves.  I count myself so blessed to be one of those for the rest of my life. 

So thanks, Babe - not just for the gift, but for you.