Coordinated

There will be a post later today about the Jesus-like sandals I am sporting today (seriously, you will see when I get around to it), but right now I have to talk about this Labor of Love weekend that I am arranging for Mother's Day. GP's parents will be here, so that means that I get to negotiate the potential in-law and my mom/stepdad situation, on a weekend that can tend to be a very "loaded" one.

Now, I will not pretend that GP's mom is in any way my mother-in-law, but the fact is that more likely than not, she will be eventually. I really enjoy her, and she has always been very sweet and generous with me, so I know I could be doing a lot worse in that department. My mom and I are also close; she and my stepdad live within 15 minutes of us, and we often have Sunday dinners with them. What I am worried about is the degree of competition that could erupt during this weekend between the two moms-- I am having to walk the line that says, "I appreciate you, [GP's mom], but mom, you are really the best," but in a way that doesn't pit them against each other in the Mother of the Year race. Because GP is much less "into" Mother's Day than I am, I will be putting together "Queen For a Day" weekend-y gift bags for both moms, complete with cards, wine-tasting itineraries, and assorted small gifts. True, we are paying for the brunch that we'll be having Sunday morning, but I think they will appreciate the bags and the sentiment behind them.

How do married women deal with this? I am sweating bullets in my air-conditioned office, trying to decide what separate-but-equal gifts I can put in these bags, and how to balance the Mother's Day merriment so that everyone has a good time. I may be overanalyzing and worrying too much-- after all, we will be wine tasting. How bad can it be?

If you have any advice about the two-mom/family Mother's Day juggling act (or just want to tell me to stop worrying or at least just shut up about it), leave it in the comments!