My Mom's Fake Present

I've written before about how smart and kooky my mom is, but I haven't written about how much she's totally rocking at wedding planning. She has all the traits to make her an excellent professional wedding planner: she's highly organized, creative, adheres to the saying 'it's easier to catch flies with honey' and perhaps most importantly, offers her opinion as an opinion, not as a decision.

My mom is totally making my wedding the most beautiful wedding she can make for me, while still making sure that it's what I want, not what she would choose. That's a very hard line to straddle and I know and appreciate it.

So this story while funny, it makes me feel bad. My mom's birthday was July 6th. I had planned on buying her a pair of fit-flops (the flip flops designed to help work out your thighs and butt) but wanted her to try them on to make sure they fit. Because she was coming to New York on July 13th, I sent her a card but not a present, explaining that I would buy her the present when she got to the city. Well, my mom didn't really believe me and she was looking forward to a surprise. And, sure enough, a large box arrived the day after her birthday, postmarked from Brooklyn. She opened it with anticipation, thinking she knew all along that I wouldn't miss her birthday. She was surprised all right, when she found herself with an entire box of yarmulkes (6 dozen!) that I had ordered for guests to wear at the wedding.

Poor mom. And the fit-flops didn't even fit, so she got a box-full of yarmulkes and a lunch this year from me.

Happy belated birthday!