With Mother's Day coming on the heels of my birthday, Eric's birthday and John's looming right after Mother's Day is over, I've reverted to an age-old, time-tested method of providing reminders and hints via my daughter. I used to have to go right to the source and say that although I was positive John had picked out just the right gift for me, I saw 'so-and-so' that I'd really like. I didn't do this because John slacks in the gift department. He is a fantastic gift selector. I just needed to make sure he actually remembered....for my own peace of mind. Sly boy that he is, he usually had already made some sort of plans, but invariably, he'd add my suggestion to whatever gift he'd already lined up and I wouldn't have to fret all week that he had forgotten.BUT, this year, I found a gift that I'll be giving to my children. It is the "Understand Your Mother peppermint flavor breath spray". I don't need to give it to my own mom, because her mother is in Heaven, and I actually don't need it myself, since the process of becoming a mother has the same effect as the breath spray--Mom's language and reasonining becomes instantly more clear and sane.
But I'm thinking that my children will actually be able to take advantage of the newfound knowlege this product promises. The advertisement assures "you will now instantly understand your mother".
IMAGINE: I say, "Sweetie, put your toys away" when in reality I mean "If you don't pick up that mess on the floor, the garbage man is going to be in for a real shock when I load the bins with all your prized posessions and then to ease my guilt, I'll have to run over to the Dress Barn and buy myself that new outfit for Mother's Day that I passed up last time I was there".
How does it work? No one seems to know. They say that perhaps the peppermint flavor activates special receptors in your brain, or maybe it works because the user really, really wants it to. It doesn't matter, though. My kids will thank me. Now I've just gotta watch that thought process and start saying what I really mean, in the most nurturing way possible, of course.
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