The Mother's Day Mine Field

This Sunday is, in my estimation, the Sunday that strikes the most fear into a Bishopric.  It's Mother's Day.  Why not just call it what it is - Mine Field Sunday.  The reasons for it are myriad.  This will be our third Mother's Day Sunday as a Bishopric and I'd like to think we've learned to navigate the most dangerous aspects of the day.  For example:

• No sisters having to prepare talks for our principal worship service, Sacrament Meeting, making it a little less fretful for a couple sisters
• Those that are speaking have been given some very good guidance on what to talk about, but not from me...
• Encouraging the men of our ward, or congregation, to make good on promises to make the day about the women in their lives
• We've canceled most of our administrative meetings so we can be with our own families

However, we still haven't conquered one of the biggest of the land mines - what to give the women of the ward.  This has been a source of, well, consternation.  Our budget is slim so we can't get nice flowers.  And the reality is that they don't survive the three-hour block.  They look like this as soon as they are handed off to the women:

They look like this if a child doesn't snap it in half first

We thought about baking something and realized that would go horribly wrong.  So when we queried our Relief Society (the womens' organization) about what we should do, she said we really didn't have to do anything.  I literally let out a whoop of joy at that pronouncement.  What I didn't realize is that "really" was code for: "You don't have to but you're in for a world of hurt if you don't."

So it's Wednesday night and we're trying to get it figured out.  We'll get it done. And I figure the blowback won't be too bad.  At least that's what I'm hoping.