There’s an unforgettable episode in the first season of Modern Family. It’s Claire and Phil’s anniversary but Claire confesses that she’s an epic fail when it comes to buying presents. Phil of course, retorts.
At the end of last month, I was faced with the same dilemma.
Can I just say firstly, I’m faced with the doubly difficult task of having Father’s Day and Mr Surfer’s birthday landing 2 weeks apart.
Admittedly, Father’s Day, I can usually get away with. Daycare has me covered with the twin ions’ assigned gifts (Hand drawn tennis socks…love it!) and their annual “How well do you know your daddy?” interviews (“How big is your daddy?” “Like a volcano…” “How strong is your daddy?” “Like a volcano…”).
And when he says, “I don’t need anything for Father’s Day…” I will ignore all passive aggressiveness that eludes in that tiny statement and take great advantage of its literal context.
No presents? You got it, dude!
Besides – I convince myself – Father’s Day comes with the generic marketing, money spinning ploy.
We all know though, birthdays are a different story.
This year, I was ready to give up, do my usual Claire Dunphy and make him some “Bow Chica Bow Wow” vouchers (along with buying some practical ones from Bunnings, of course).
Then, I remembered the previous weekend as we were walking along the beach, Mr Surfer grabbed my hand and sighed, “Gee, I could sleep for a week.”
Barely finishing the sentence, off he charged again chasing the two little rockets before completely disappearing out of our sights.
So, what should’ve bee glaringly obvious, took a little brain burp on my behalf before paying attention to that quiet plea for respite.
Finally, I got it. And not too long after I found a quiet, reasonably priced nearby boutique hotel that surprisingly had a Saturday night available during the busy long weekend.
I specifically requested early check in and for the room furthest away from the main road, traffic and other humans.
Booked.
And off Mr Surfer went on a much-needed staycation.
He surfed, he went to the movies, he got some sleeeeeeep.
One decent night’s sleep isn’t going to make a dent on the years of sleep deprivation but some is better than none.
Most importantly, what returned home was an extremely appreciative husband who thinks my selfless act totes makes me THE BOMB.
Best birthday present. EVER!
Are you good at getting presents for your spouse? What’s been the worse present you’ve bought? The best?