Mother's Day is up there with Christmas and New Year's in our household, except there is only one beneficiary. This makes sense, though, when you consider all that Mom does for us the rest of the year. The hope, of course, is that Mother's Day is just the biggest and best day of the year, but that she realizes how much she means to us the other 364 days, too.

Mother's Day version 2010 has come and gone, and it now rests on our shoulders to make sure that Mom realizes this was not a "one and done" event. To this end, Mom received two gifts that will surely keep on giving.

From me, she got a cute black mini skirt and peach blouse for the next time we trip the light fantastic.

Understand that for my wife, who stands just 5 feet tall, a mini skirt is actually full length. For her to get into a real mini skirt she would have to shop in the kiddie section.

My daughter gave her the tried and true coupon packet, which she insisted was much more thoughtful because it came from the heart.

We'll see about that later this month when Mom tries to cash in one of those puppies.

As gifts go, I think both the outfit and the coupons will show Mom just how much she means to us for quite some time, but I suspect my daughter is right — the coupons will, in the long run, prove more meaningful. Our daughter didn't so much give Mom a gift as a vacation — a vacation Mom sorely deserves.

Mom's packet included meal tickets for breakfast, lunch and dinner; a coupon for a custom mani-pedi; free passes on chores such as washing clothes, picking up dog poop and doing the dishes; as well as a few chance cards like a no-work day and a tell-me-to-do-anything coupon.

My favorite was the last card to come out of the envelope, a "kiss Dad all you want and I won't complain" ticket.

Like most kids I know, it absolutely disgusts my daughter when she sees her Mom and I showing even a little affection for each other. I swear it's like she is coughing up something from her childhood. Most of her theatrics are for show — she is a performer through and through — but deeper than that, I suspect she is telling us that she knows we care about each other. It is an affirmation. One day, with any luck, she will find herself in a similar position, loving someone so deeply that you have no choice but to show your feelings. And I will likely be just like her, gagging something up from my childhood and telling her to knock it off.