Last week I spent a few days helping to paint the inside of our friends "new" house. That was actually kind of fun. We got in a bit a visiting, a bit of fun arguing about paint color choices, and I got a dose of babysitting my friends' two adorable well behaved 4 year old grands.
(Oddly, I like to paint; I love seeing a dull, dirty wall turn out bright, clean, and cheerful. What I don't like is the prep or the clean up, but I like clean up a whole lot better than all that taping/masking! I can't paint with out taping; my hand just isn't steady enough not to make a mess.)
All last week, my friend's husband, C, told my friend, M, that they would be moving over Mother's Day weekend. Needless to say, my friend was not happy with her DH. Her 60th birthday was on Thursday, and this was also the eleventh anniversary of her last chemo treatment! She wanted to celebrate being alive and well, her birthday, and Mother's Day without any hassles or pressures. I kept telling her not to worry about it because there was no way "we" were going to help move over Mother's Day weekend. "But, C said."!!!
I had to be gone on Thursday, but remembered to call M to wish her a happy birthday. A few of us "girls" wound up going out to celebrate on Thursday evening, but I guess no family member "remembered" to call her. No one brought over a cake or a card. Oooh, was M upset with them!
Forward to Saturday - M was painting at the "new" house. One of her daughters showed up and told her mom that she needed to change into at least clean jeans because they needed to go NOW to look at a room for daughter's wedding reception (just in case rain ruined the already made plans). When they got to the hotel, M wouldn't go into the room because there were people in it. Daughter had to literally push M into the room. It took M a few seconds, but when she realized who the people were M burst into tears.
Not once did M tumble that her family had put together a surprise birthday party. One of M's brothers brought their mom from Montana; another daughter and grand came up from southern Idaho. Church members and friends showed up. M was ecstatic. She said she was so busy getting ready to move that it never occurred to her that anything was going on. She thought that because every one was so busy, too, that they had forgotten her birthday.
2 comments:
Awwww, what a surprise.
But I can't just write the above. I wanted to, because it's the usual thing one would say, to something like this.
But, -sigh- I guess I'm not one to applaud surprises, which put the person through a lot of pouting-time, ahead of time, about being forgotten. If that makes any sense...
'Aunt Amelia'
Aunt Amelia - You are right. I was quite upset with M's kids, too. They could have at least called her on her birthday.
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