May 15, 2006

Poll Results: Mother's Day

With this year's Mother's day officially behind us, it is time to review the Mother's Day Treats poll.

The question was, "What do you like to give your wife, your mother, or yourself on Mother's Day?"

And the results are...

  • Voters' number one choice is "A mini-vacation, such as a trip to a day spa", with 42.86% of the votes.
  • Following closely at number two is "A family outing, to the theatre, a museum, etc." with 38.10% of the votes.
  • Number three is "A phone call," with only 14.29% voting for this option.
  • Far behind in fourth place, is "I don't buy into these made-up, Hallmark-inspired holidays," with only 4.76% of the votes.
  • And in last place, with no votes at all, is "Jewelry: Tiffany's is always nice!"

Well, well, well. The results of the Mother's Day Treats poll are quite surprising to me! Not so much for the close contest between numbers one and two, but for the complete lack of votes for the jewelry option. The amount of advertising dollars the high-end jewelry stores pump into newspapers and magazines in the weeks leading up to Mother's Day, led me to believe that jewelry would be one of the higher-ranking gift options in the poll results.

Clearly, moms are divided between the desire to be with their family and the desire for some alone time; this is reflected not only in the results of this poll, but also by any casual eavesdropping at stroller-littered Starbucks across the nation. This division is not solely a between-groups one in the poll, but a within-groups distinction as well. What mother among us has NOT felt the urge to both constantly hug our kids and occasionally lock them out of our bedrooms as well?

Meanwhile, those mothers whose adult children have moved out of state, surely relish Mother's Day phone calls. The day is a bonanza for the phone companies, thats for sure.

And what did this poll-meister receive for Mother's Day? Why, jewelry, of course! This, non-ranked option of the poll, is what I woke up to: Two Crayola-scribbled boxes, with the shining, proud faces of my young daughters hovering above. In one: A bracelet, with flower charms meticulously glued into place. In the other: Another bracelet, with plastic beads carefully strung to read "WOW." No, wait, she's holding it upside down. It reads, "MOM."

Perfect, perfect, perfect. I wore them all day.