May is a rather stressful month. In addition to Mother's Day, it contains my father's birthday and my sister's, all clustered closely together. In fact, tomorrow is both Mother's Day and Dad's 85th birthday, and Sue's birthday is on the 18th.
Normally I spend the first part of May baking cake and wracking my brains for suitable presents. All three of them are difficult to buy gifts for, particularly now that my sister is downsizing and my parents claim to have everything they want or need. In the past I've gone with the tried and true (flowers for Mom), the whimsical ("Owner of the World's Cutest Cat" t-shirt for Sue), and the shot in the dark (a set of White Wings paper airplanes for Dad), but I'm running out of ideas.
This year I'm taking them all out for dinner, since I'm still in exile from my kitchen. At Mom's request, I baked a combined birthday and Mother's Day cake today from a mix (confetti angel food). I bought cards. I got Mom a butter dish she wanted and Dad a bottle of bourbon. I'm still trying to decide what to get my sister - besides help with cleaning the grout in the house she's trying to sell, that is. Maybe another cat shirt - the other one is almost worn out.
The only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that Sue will have an equally stressful month in August, when my birthday is the day before my parents' anniversary.
"Just as a puppy can be more of a challenge than a gift, so too can the holidays." ~John Clayton
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