Recently I sat down with Christie Sweeney (Program Director, Parent Connection at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) to introduce our community of active fathers to the hospital as a possible outlet for new dads in their network. Beth Israel's great and I love'd our experience there two years ago. I remember CJ took advantage of a feature in Parent Connection which pairs new moms with volunteer mentoring moms after the baby is born, plus we took some great classes and the food was great during our stay, and I happen to have been born there myself. ;)
"The Parent Connection is a free service that offers new moms groups in several community locations as well as a mentoring moms service where parents are matched with a trained, volunteer mentor who provides weekly phone call support through the first twelve weeks post-delivery."
Anyhow Beth Israel then did an awesome thing and blogged about our group. It was that blog post, our original conversation and finally a somewhat serendipitous confirmation from CJ that spawned this idea below.
..The Confirmation
We had just sat down to a screening of the movie Belle which I was pretty excited to take her to. It was only our THIRD movie since the baby and it's the sort of period piece she'd like. The lead is beautiful (I like) and it's based on a true story. So what better way to kick off Mother's Day fun than a midweek flick without the toddler? We arrive early (shocker), take our seats, and after a second trip to the front the popcorn is now adequately salted and buttered to her liking. The lights dim, the chatter decreases and the score fills the theater. Just before it starts CJ lightly exhales and whispers "I just need a break". Well I stand corrected. Don't get me wrong the outing was appreciated but my epiphany was the realization that all she really she needed was some rest, relaxation and time off. Which I totally understand.
Well ask and you shall receive woman. BAM! (Tommy Davidson voice)
So dads listen. You can print these, forward these, email these, text these, or simply make your own. Give her 2 days off, redeemed at her discretion, and maybe even save a little bit of money on that "filler" gift that you sometimes add in just to make sure you've taken care of her adequately on her day of days.
Or mom feel free to nudge dad or point him to these or to print them yourselves. Make it easy.
When you cash in a coupon if you want snap a photo or write an update using #BMDGE to be reposted on Tangible Transmedia's twitter/instagram and/or the Boston Dads Group accounts.
Happy Mother's Day!