This is a gift test ... are you paying attention?

Janice Kiaski
Every year when Mother’s Day approaches, I always drop “subtle” hints to Better Half about the endless gift possibilities that will bring a smile to my face.

And every year, I get the same initial response: “You’re not my mother,” he reminds me.

I nod my head to convey a level of respectful understanding here but then I launch my traditional counter: “I’m the mother of your children, sweetums,” I trump him. “I am gift worthy,” I say with a broad smile, not words.

The “battle” ends, and victory is mine.

Ahh, bring on the gift wrap and ribbon.

I like that Mother’s Day falls in mid-May just a few weeks after my birthday. It’s not that I’m present possessed or anything, but, hey, a back-to-back showering of gifts gives a gal a pleasant perspective on life and helps her navigate through the dry spells of those other non-gift-giving months that lead up to Christmas.

Besides, I think I’m pretty easy to buy for, given I like everything with the exception of coconut and cantaloupe. That leaves my gift list pretty wide open, you have to agree, but not necessarily expensive or even remotely extravagant.

How much easier can I make it for the gift-givers?

Heck, I get excited over a three-pack of legal pads because I just love notebooks. And I’m a pen freak, too. I can never have enough of those, especially the skinny point ones in blue and black ink.

Or dress socks. I always appreciate those since my collection of footwear is pretty shabby for the most part. I don’t know why, but I hate to buy myself socks because there are so many other non-necessities I’d rather squander my money on.

I like to shop with Better Half and my kids especially in late March/early April because this is the time when my birthday and then Mother’s Day will arrive nearly back-to-back, and I can start to make “suggestions” about things I like or need or want or wish I could find.

This is kind of like a training period, as I see it. A test of the Janice Kiaski Are You Paying Attention broadcasting system. For the next 30 minutes or more, you’ll be exposed to subliminal suggestions about appropriate wife/mom purchases for upcoming special events.

After all, I can’t just come right out and say what I want. That would be tacky. It would be too easy, too. I’m a firm believer that gift-giving should involve some level of pain and sacrifice, if not on the wallet then at least on the time spent anguishing and agonizing over making the appropriate selection(s.)

I think I make things pretty grief-free for my family when it comes to gift-buying just as my mother has always made it easy for me. She likes everything, too. Even coconut and cantaloupe. She likes earrings. She likes clothes. She likes perfume. All kinds of stuff. Take your pick.

Me? I like to roam aimlessly down aisles of stores with family at hand, stopping on occasion to comment on something that’s captured my fancy. If I really like it, I make a point to point it out again on our next visit down the same aisle of the same store.

Example No. 1: “Wow, this set of dishes is really pretty, don’t you think?” (as if anyone living under the same roof as me really cares what their food is on) but I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. “And look, it’s actually made in the U.S.A.”

Example No 2: As we near the area of a store where purses and belts are, that’s when I start to bellyache the most about the purse slung on my shoulder, how I can’t stand this purse anymore, how it doesn’t have enough compartments, how it’s not big enough, how it’s ratty-looking and time for a change= “Hey, this is a sweet purse. What do you think?” I solicit opinions as I linger-loiter among the handbags.

Example No. 3: I like to get stuck at jewelry counters and stare at bracelets, which are my favorite fashion accessory. When Better Half or my kids are with me on these stops, I usually mention that I already have plenty of bracelets, but if I were going to add to my collection, this would be the one I’d take home.

So you get the picture.

“Suggestions” and shopping visuals can be a mom’s best friend for Mother’s Day.

Here’s hoping all you moms get exactly what you want today, even if it’s cantaloupe and coconuts.



(Kiaski, a resident of Steubenville, is a staff columnist, features writer and copy editor for the herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times. She can be contacted at jkiaski@heraldstaronline.com.)