Practical Ways to Honor Your Wife on Mother’s Day
Regardless of how medical adversity hits your family, it has an inevitable effect on your daily life. From frequent doctor visits, to hospital stays, to keeping track of medicine doses, there are simply more things to juggle in addition to the challenge of keeping a household, job(s), relationships, and life in general running.
I can think of countless times along of our journey when Mary Beth has been a solid rock for our family in times when symptoms were more frequent or doctor visits more common, still balancing the many other priorities that she had (and has) on her plate. What is amazing to me is the incredible amount of things that she doesfor our family and the way that she still listens well to our girls and me and cares deeply for each of us. It’s about much more than the list of items she checks off her list on any given day. She’s an inspiration and a truly amazing wife and mom!
Truthfully, I don’t really feel qualified to write this post. As I was preparing to write this out, I was reminded of the long way I still have to go in loving Mary Beth the way I want to. But I also know that my job as a husband is to work on loving her better each and every day. I certainly don’t have a perfect track record, but my hope is that these suggestions will help other husbands to find new ways to say thank you and I love you to their wives on Mother’s Day.
Things to Do Around the House for Mother’s Day
One of the best ways to honor someone we love is to put our actions in line with our words. Here are a few practical things we can do as husbands to show that honor for our wives (I’ve covered a few of these suggestions in a post on how to care for your family.):
Make breakfast for the family. And clean up!
Make the bed.
Take out all of the household the trash.
Pick up things that are left around the house.
Do the dishes… for the whole day!
Feed the pet(s).
Fill up the gas tank in the car.
Wash and vacuum the car.
Do something on the honey-do list.
Do the laundry.
I think one of the best ways to approach a list like this is to think of the things that your wife would appreciate most. Maybe she is typically the one that does the dishes and laundry and you take out the trash and cook, but what if you surprise her by taking care of the things she normally expects to handle? Are there any things your wife doesn’t like to do?
Treats Your Wife Might Enjoy for Mother’s Day
Another way to show your appreciation for your wife might be through gifts or treats. You might even consider picking something little to do before Mother’s Day as a surprise and early thank you. Here are a few ideas:
Surprise her with fresh flowers.
Treat her to time to go get a manicure / pedicure.
Give her a book from her wish list.
Rent a movie that she wants to watch.
Buy her favorite candy or chocolate.
In general, some of the more thoughtful treats don’t have to be very expensive, but as hard as mom’s work, they deserve some kind of extra treat to enjoy.
Ways to Tell Your Wife You Love Her on Mother’s Day
Lastly, there are many ways to express appreciation, honor, and love that don’t involve spending any money. Here are a few options:
Write a thank you letter for the things she does and what you appreciate about her.
Send text messages to say “I love you,” or “thank you for working hard” leading up to and after Mother’s Day.
Give her time to read under a tree, enjoy a cup of coffee / tea, go for a run, etc.
Listen… and ask questions about what is on her mind.
Write out 10 things you love and admire about your wife.
We’ve had the chance of interacting with some amazing families through helloHOPE, and there are a number of husbands I’ve met that do an exemplary job of loving their wives. These families are an inspiration to me, and I hope you are able to draw strength and inspiration from them as well. As you think about and beyond this coming Mother’s Day, let’s see how we, as husbands, can move beyond a day to celebrate our wives to a lifestyle of appreciation and honor.
Looking for more resources for dads? You may be interested in these posts: