Mother's Day blahs

If mother's day is a Hallmark holiday, why did I let it get to me?  More specifically, why did I let my husband's lack of celebration get to me?  Phone calls from all three children, check.  Called mother and mother-in-law, check.  Card from husband, check.  So why did it leave me feeling so blah. 

The truth is, I am NOT my husband's mother, I am the mother of his children.  When they were little it made some sense that he would stand surrogate for them in the celebration, but somehow it has become traditional for men to celebrate and honor their wives on mother's day.  In our family, my husband started a tradition of "kitchen" gifts.  It wasn't one I loved, but at least I knew there would be something useful or convenient or needed - though no one really "needed" the waffle iron, and it was clear to me that the only person who was ever going to make waffles (a time consuming and messy job since they are made from scratch) was me.  Some years, my children remember and send a card, or a plant, or cut flowers, some not, but that's not the issue.  I am in shock when I received a gift from my children.  Of course they are modeling my/our behavior.  We call and don't give gifts to our own mothers.

So why did this year leave me so flat.  It wasn't the lack of a gift, though I do like getting presents.  It was the "plans" for the day.  We are still in the midst of a remodel, the result of a tree falling in a storm.  The remodeling plans for this week include paint on the main floor and in the upstairs hallway.  The painters are not responsible for patching holes in the upstairs hall, just painting it.  That means someone had to patch the largish holes in the hollow core doors.  My husband started the task (with my son's help) during Passover, but there it stayed, ostensibly because he couldn't figure out how to mix the Bondo that made up the next step.  The "plans" for the day (as dictated by my husband) involved preparing for painting.  Guess who got to finish the hole repairs? Mixing and applying Bondo?  And sand?  And Spackle?  And sand...  Perhaps if those were the only items on the "Honey Do" list I might have managed to relax afterward, but they weren't.  The list went on, and every time (it felt) like I managed to relax, there was another item.  The day was choppy and disjointed.

I did manage to spend a little time at my sewing machine, but I still feel disappointed.  I recognize that my disappointment is unrealistic.  The tasks do need to get done, but I will be very happy when this remodel is complete, when the kitchen is complete, and when (maybe) I can find a day to do just what I want to do -- without interruption.  Maybe Father's Day?