Mother's & Mother's Day

The dilemma is enough for any man - how do you honor the woman who went through the incomprehensible (for men) pain of labor and childbirth on Mother's Day?  Anything you do is going to be trivial by comparison, short of building the Taj Mahal?  And even then...

So what do you two when you have TWO women who must be honored on the same day?  Here are some tips:

1)  You had better do something.  No matter how small and insignificant.  For instance, this photo is from Mother's Day in 2008.  I was broke and jobless, but I got Taco Bell takeout, and we ate in the park.  I wish I could have done better, but that's all I could do at the time.

2)  You had better get them something.  Write a poem.  Make a card.  Something.

3)  You had better not get them the same thing as far as gifts.  I learned that the hard way.  If they get the same gift, then you are denying them the opportunity to be unique and individuals.  You can get them SIMILAR gifts.  Just not the same one.  For instance, I bought them both bracelets yesterday.  But Temple's had butterfly charms to match a special necklace I bought her earlier.  Martha's bracelet was one of those magnetic healing bracelets, since she has been dying to try one for a long time.  I got one wife a CD, and the other one a DVD.  I have a hard time selecting gifts.  So I solve it by buying something similar, but unique enough to match the vibrant personality differences in each wife.

4)  You had better take them out.  Even if it's to the park for Taco Bell.  And since there is only ONE Mother's Day, and since I have TWO wives, necessity dictates that I must take them both out at the same time.  Yesterday, I took them to the local Indian gaming casino for a Mother's Day brunch of prime rib, crab, oysters, shrimp, cherry jubilee, and I toasted them with mimosas.

5)  You had better let them know they are appreciated, and you had better mean it.  After all, these women had to deal with natural jealousies to share one man, and they struggled to bring children into the world for your sake.  Without Martha, without Temple, I am truly nothing.  I am truly lower than the dusts of the earth.  They - along with the precious children they have given me - are the entire purpose of my life, my existence.

Right now, I am jobless and disabled and recovering from my wound.  My whole purpose is to be there for them, for my children, and most of the time, I don't do a good job at that.  But I had to something to make them feel special.  Because I love both of these dear ladies with all of my heart and would be lost without them.

This is how I honored them on Mother's Day.  I hope you were able to honor the special ladies in your life as best as you could as well.