Mother's Day Guilt...

In a way, Mother's Day conjures up 

too much guilt for my liking...  

Men feel imposed upon, 

much like on Valentine's Day, 

to deliver some impossibly sweet, 

romantic, loving, heartfelt gesture 

on behalf of the kids...  

 

Invariably, they come up short 

and then Mom feels culpable

for the Mother's Day pressure...  

 

 We feel guilty because we don't want to make brunch 

for the whole family, 

or because maybe all we really want is

to stay under the covers 

and to read trashy magazines the whole day...

  

"What do you want to do for Mother's Day?"  

It's a loaded question, 

filled with guilt...  

Do I give the answer they want to hear 

or the awful truth?

Honestly, I can't even figure out 

what I want for Mother's Day, 

so how the hell can my non-ESP reading husband 

know what to do?

However, this is not the case 

with Father's Day...  

T$ knows what he wants to do...  

Sleep in, eat a carnivorous breakfast, 

slouch on the couch all day, hand in pants, 

and watch "Sports Center", 

eat a carnivorous dinner...  

No guilt, that's the deal...  

Some years I prepared the elaborate brunch 

and it was more work than I bargained for...  

I felt cheated out of a day of pampering

and it was my own fault...  

Other years, I escaped for some spa treatments 

and felt somewhat guilty 

for leaving my family to their own devices, 

Then I got over it 

about midway into my massage...    

So, this year, since my husband has informed me 

that he will be in town, 

here is what I want....  

No guilt...  

I want to sleep in until at least 8:30 am... 

I want to read the Sunday paper in bed, 

undisturbed by screaming 

or inquiries as to the whereabouts 

of certain hockey gear...

Breakfast in bed, please;

anything ending in "Benedict" 

sounds lovely...  

I do not plan to clean up, 

do laundry, break up squabbles, 

comb hair, find baseball cups, 

pack a snack bag 

or load the dishwasher on this day...

I would like to hang with the family, 

no commitments, obligations or plans...  

Dinner du Jour is not to be organized by me, 

whether cooked or at a restaurant...  

McDonald's or The Golden Apple would be considered 

 to be a Mother's Day FAIL...  

And that's it....  

I don't need gifts, 

I just need a little rest and relaxation....  

And no guilt!

Speaking of guilt, 

and by that I mean guilty pleasures, 

here is a treat I'll be taking

to the factory tomorrow... 

Thanks to the Pioneer Woman 

for this delicious scones recipe...

Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

Prep Time:

20 Minutes

Cook Time:

20 Minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Servings:

12

Ingredients

• SCONES
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• 2/3 cups Sugar
• 5 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 sticks (1/2 Pound) UNSALTED Butter, Chilled
• 1 whole Large Egg
• 3/4 cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)
• 2 whole Vanilla Beans
• GLAZE
• 5 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk, More If Needed For Thinning
• 1 whole Vanilla Bean
• Dash Of Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out all the vanilla "caviar" inside. Stir caviar into cream. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.
Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.
Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.
Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
VANILLA GLAZE
To make the icing, split one vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the caviar. Stir caviar into milk; allow to sit for awhile. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.
One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.