Rediscovering the 'Me' in 'Mumeeeeeee'

'I have always thought that there is no more fruitful source of family discontent than a housewife’s badly-cooked dinners and untidy ways'. (Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, 1861)

December 17, 2009

Surprise me Santa - please!


Mums and Dads, Lords and Ladies*, I am delighted to introduce to you my guest blogger, Susanna Scott. Known to most as mummy blogging diva 'A Modern Mother', Susanna is the original and still the best; the Aretha Franklin/Whitney Houston of the blogosphere, if you will. I'm thrilled that she has popped round for a glass of mulled wine to tell us what it is that she wants for Christmas.
*they read blogs too you know

Susanna, take it away.......

All I want for Christmas is...
What do I want for Christmas? My husband asked me this over the weekend, and I have to admit that it annoyed me just a wee bit. Though asked in innocence and with good intentions, it highlighted the fact that I am responsible for the majority of Christmas cheer in our household. Just by asking the question, "What do you want for Christmas?" puts the onus back on me. It would be really nice if, in addition to choosing gifts for the girls, two sets of grandparents and endless cousins, I didn’t have to then make suggestions for myself.

Does that sound selfish?

I put a lot of effort into choosing Christmas gifts for people. I’ll listen carefully for that hint dropped into a conversation. A magazine left open on a page. The colour of a much needed kitchen accessory they don’t have. I rarely ask people what they want – the exception being my children. I hate asking, because I know it’s a hard question to answer.

Who knows – maybe I get my gifts all wrong. Maybe my mother-in-law hates the scented soaps from Crabtree and Evelyn and the cousins don’t like the GAP T-shirts.

One year, hubby was so busy travelling that I bought and wrapped my own gift! An Orla Kiely bag as it happens, with big red coffee cups on it. I still use it. But I could have bought it any day of the week.

So what did I tell him I wanted? A massage. From him.

Susanna has three children, all born within a three-year time span. She has been a working mum and a stay-at-home mum, with some variations in between. After a career in journalism and marketing, she took three years off to reflect on how the heck she went from charging around Europe to charging around the play park. She recently re-entered the workforce, and is pleased that she hasn’t lost as many brain cells as she feared. You can read more at her blog, A Modern Mother. Susanna is also the founder of the British Mummy Bloggers network and is planning the first Mummy Bloggers Conference in the UK in July 2010.

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4 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you mean. My husband's asked the same question, several times. He forgets what I said the first time and so asks me again *sigh*.

    Hope you get a jolly good massage!

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  2. The problem is that if I let 'them' decide what to get me I don't get what I really, really want, and as I don't get many presents I like to make sure they're as useful and desirable (to me) as possible. This year I have not been asked. And this worries me slightly.

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  3. I know what you mean. I spend real time thinking about what to buy for my husband and get very annoyed when he asks me what I want. I think I deserve to be thought of in the same way. I am not adverse to the odd hint though so my stock reply these days is "I like shiny things and pretty things and sparkly things and sweet things and books."

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  4. I still think hibby has no idea what he is getting me ... and all this snow just gives him an excuse ... wich me luck!

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