As the clock ticked closer and closer to Mother’s Day, it made me nervous that the girls had still not come up with what gift to get their Mom.  We had discussed plans for the weekend, a mechanism for how we’d be delivering said plans and had even decided the meal plan and who’d be responsible for what on the day of planned big brunch.  All that was fine, but still no gift to open.  I wasn’t bothered so much by the thought that Alison would be expecting something – she’d be fine – my bigger concern was coming from however the girls would react when Sunday morning came about and only then would they tell me “oh yeah, we want to get her ‘X'”.  Living in an age when all they know is that things just show up at your doorstep, they haven’t fully wrapped their thinking around the need for advanced planning and communication.   Then, Friday afternoon, in a rare moment that we had all to ourselves, the girls both came to me to say ‘Dad, we don’t want to buy her any gifts.  She doesn’t really need or even like ‘stuff’, we made her some art at school, and we have activities planned, so I think she’ going to be happier if we don’t buy anything else.’   These girls nailed it.

I’ve gone on before about the value of experiences in our family – my general view is that, while I do love Lego, Nintendo games and my new griddle – stuff will come and go, whereas time is something you can never get more of, and time together, is even more precious and fleeting.  We’re also a family (so I’m told) who likes to, well, perhaps try to fit too much into one day.  I won’t say how often I criticize my better half for doing this, an act that can only be described as hypocrisy, but I know that for as many adventures as she wants to tackle in a day and the amount of eye rolls I may give them, I know full-well that I am equally guilty of the exact same offences.  So, this weekend, instead of doing too much in one day…we decided to do them across two!

Early, but not too early Saturday morning, ahead of the rain and the dreary over cast grey that was looming on the weather app, the girls handed Mom her first clue of the day.  Why a clue?  Well, because ‘someone’ in this family may have got them hooked on the idea of surprises and over-complicating things;  surely I have no idea who that someone is.  In any case, our day of meandering adventure was underway and we took to the town for a morning of cafes, markets, art galleries and parks before coming back to the homestead for lunch.  It doesn’t need to take a lot for an outing to be meaningful – as a display of consideration of how they understand their Mom enjoys to spend her time, this casual morning of cappuccino and tulips from the market was more than enough to fill her cup.  Of course, with half a day still ahead of us, we couldn’t simply rest on our laurels, and so out came the next clue and the gathering of our roller skates – it was off to the roller rink for some retro good times.

I do not think myself a lazy man, not by any stretch of the imagination.  That said, I do recognize that I’m perhaps not in the best shape of my life – roller skating in a circle for two and half hours is a good reminder of this.  Engaging muscles I didn’t know I had, and trying to maintain control while also attempting to ‘feel the music’ was no easy feat.  Not one to give in to a little discomfort today for a lot of discomfort tomorrow, I wasn’t about to slow down or stop, and so we all rolled on – smiling uncontrollably as we anticipated each new song and the next lap of the rink.  It was fun to the point of us looking up the cost of a membership by the time the day was done.  Will we follow though?  Who’s to say – but in the words of my youngest, who roller-danced non-stop the entire time: it was the rose of the day.

And what outing would be complete without a little all you can eat sushi?  After working up an appetite at the rink, there was perhaps no better place to go than Kinkaku Izakaya in Kitchener – a lovely little restaurant that Nora and I discovered a few months ago and had been itching to go back to ever since.  All we needed was the right excuse.  Now, I normally get curmudgeonly when it comes to dining out, especially around here, and so when I find an exception to the less than desirable fare that I’ve come accustomed to, I’m eager to share with others.  From the sushi and sashimi to the deep fried Mars bars, I’ve yet to try anything from their menu that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy.  A fun way to dine, with no limit to how you can share the experience, I was particularly impressed Audrey who tapped into her adventurous side to try all kinds of new tastes.  That, perhaps, is what I would name as my own rose of the day.

Tired and full, we made our way back home, where we capped the day off watching Freaky Friday in bed, eagerly awaiting the moment we could close our eyes and wake up to prepare our special Mother’s Day breakfast.  The girls have it all planned out for today – from parfaits to crepes, before we head out to visit my Mom with some special treats in hand.  From there, we’re off to the to SkyDome for not just the Jays game, but Jr. Jays celebration, where the girls get to run the bases.  While my jealousy seeps for their opportunity to do this while I have to watch from the sidelines, I am no less excited to witness the occasion.   It will be another full day ahead, and while there may be no ribbons, boxes, bags or paper to rip open, I’d say that the memories and values instilled will not soon be forgotten.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there – I hope you get to spend the time in the most beautiful ways possible.