A fine line between traditional and simply tacky.

Many cultures have customs where the father gives the mother of his child a gift upon the birth of their child. Now that tradition has been dropped to a ridiculously low level of tackiness. Let’s take it back.’,’This NYT article covers a relatively new trend – “push presents, ” presents given to women because they’ve carried a pregnancy to term and delivered the child. The attitude expressed in the article is that the father got his present (the child) and now the mother deserves a present for all her work in gestating and delivering his present (again, the child). The gifts are often demanded – there are registries for push presents. The original idea of a gift for the mother was to commemorate the special event of receiving a child into a family. Many cultures would even pass down the gifts to the children upon their maturity. Whatever the tradition, the gift was an ongoing symbol of the joyous occasion upon which a new life was welcomed into the family, not unlike the wedding bands that parents wear to symbolize their union. Jewelry, unlike some other gifts, can be worn so that the symbol isn’t just a gift on a coffee table, but a symbol that is almost a part of the person wearing it. Such tangible signs of special events in our life can be good things, particularly if they serve to remind us of these realities. But how do you hand down a hot tub to your children and grandchildren? And, btw, not everyone can afford such presents. But the most valuable present of all, which everyone can give (if they really want to) is the gift of one’s self in time given for others. Here’s the article