You can tell we've been busy

On days like today, after weeks like this week, I am glad that my mom lives 3,000 miles away. I wouldn't want her to see the state of my house. It took Tanner and I 45 minutes to wash all the dishes. The floors aren't vacuumed. I discovered a load of towels mouldering in the washing machine. I don't even want to think about the bottles I discovered wedged underneath the seat of my car. And to top it all off, I logged on-line today to discover that it is Father's Day weekend!

I'm just not ready for it. This is the first year that I really have no idea what to do. He doesn't barbecue. He doesn't play sports. He doesn't have any hobbies other than reading math books. It's too hot to wear ties, dress shirts or anything like that. What do you get a man who does nothing? It would help if he collected stamps or bugs or coins. It would be even better if he was a garden enthusiast or a wood worker. It would be heavenly if he was a normal guy that liked baseball, basketball, football, soccer, rugby, golf, tennis, anything! Instead, I sit here with dead panic creeping around me trying to think of something, anything.

I guess it shouldn't surprise me that I married someone so much like my dad. Every year we would rack our brains trying to think of a great gift for my dad. Luckily, it's grown easier over time because he started to really like working in his garden. Just buy him a new spade or an aerator or a years supply of fertilizer and hey, presto, you've got a great Father's Day gift. At least while we were growing up Dad was a real food connoisseur. Not so with Tanner. He eats, but doesn't really recognize what he's eating. Like last night, I made cauliflower for our vegetable. He spears a piece and says, "this is great broccoli!" I didn't even try to explain about the ginger-apricot glazed chicken. On the plus side, even if I burn dinner, he doesn't complain. It's edible, right? Luckily, he's a very intuitive guy and takes me to nice restaurants when I've got a hankering for fine food. I'm very aware of what a big deal this is for him because he confessed not long after we were married that he always thought that The Olive Garden was a fancy restaurant.

All of this to say, what am I going to get him? He definitely deserves something special. Especially since he took me to a Greek restaurant last week.