Dad tries.  He really does.  But when it comes to giving presents to Mom, let’s just say he could use a little help.  One year for Mother’s Day he and Lemmy gave Mom a vacuum.  Yep, he forced Lemmy to give Mom the starring character in every dog’s nightmare!  Then there was the BIG birthday when Dad gave Mom a set of snow tires.  Now I know what Dad was thinking, “Who doesn’t like to chew on a tire?”  But Dad accidentally bought the full size ones that were too big to play with in the living room, leaving Mom with no choice but to put them on her car.  More recently Dad has focused his gift ideas on kitchen appliances.  There was the year he bought Mom an empty refrigerator for Christmas.  I still don’t know what was wrong with the old one.  It was full of food, and leaked water at just the right interval to give me a drink whenever I wanted.  And who can forget Mom’s birthday last year when Dad gave her a new stove after he broke the old one?  Dad knew Asa’s Imaginary Friend lived in the old oven’s window!  Thankfully, his Imaginary Friend didn’t mind moving into the new one.  But I digress.  This year for Mother’s Day, Dad once again took it upon himself to buy Mom the “perfect” gift.  However, this time I was ready with a gift of my own for her.  After all, she is my Mom, not his!

In the days leading up to Mother’s Day, I surveyed the kitchen appliances, and found them all to be in good working order.  This gave me a false sense of security that Dad was going to forgo the big reveal of a major appliance.  Boy was I wrong.  Apparently there was a broken appliance that needed replacing – the toaster!  Now I’ve seen those ads where a Mom gets breakfast in bed.  So I’m guessing that’s what Dad was thinking.  Except instead of wasting time on one breakfast that would be over in minutes, Dad gave Mom the gift that keeps on giving toast!  This way any time Mom wants to eat breakfast in bed, she can make herself toast that is actually toasted on both sides and not just on one like the previous toaster.  Mom seemed genuinely excited about this gift.  But that’s only because she didn’t know yet what I picked out for her.

What Dad doesn’t understand is when buying the perfect gift you must put yourself in the receiver’s place.  What are their interests?  Also it’s nice to buy something that perhaps the person would never splurge and purchase for themselves.  This got me thinking.  What is Mom interested in?  Well me and Asa of course!  Her world revolves around us.  So what do we need that she could use to make our lives better that she would never buy for herself?  Well the choice is obvious!  That’s why for Mother’s Day I gave Mom a push lawnmower!  No not one of those scary loud ones.  Nor the big cumbersome one like Dad uses.  Nope, I got Mom an old fashion push lawnmower!  This way she can quickly and easily cut the grass in our play area between when Dad mows, so we no longer lose our ball in the tall grass when playing fetch!  This gift is so awesome I even surprised myself!  Who would have guessed I could surpass the rain boots I gave her last year for Mother’s Day with an even better gift?  Not to brag, but I even bought her the “elite” model because I want nothing but the best for my Mom!  Now if only it would stop raining, so Mom can take it for a spin!

Mom’s Response: Thank you Chuck Billy and Asa for your thoughtful gift.  You’ve certainly set the bar pretty high for future gifts with that push lawnmower.