My mom is the master of making a person feel special and loved. She has always been this way. Not just with her children and loved ones, but to others she has never met, as well as strangers on the street. She has such a huge heart and a giving spirit.
That being said, her “baby girl” (as she still calls me to this day,) will be turning 30 this year. She emailed me asking if Todd would be working that weekend – and he is. I talked to her the other evening on the phone, and she said to pencil her in on Friday, February 4th at 6:30 PM until Sunday, February 6th – my actual birth date. I’m not sure what she has up her sleeve, but I know it will be a blast.
To give you an idea of how she has always made me feel special and loved, every morning of my birthday, she would wake me up with breakfast in bed. Not cereal or pop tarts, but my favorite, eggs in a basket with orange juice. On the tray, she would also have a single rose in a small vase and a box wrapped with a piece of jewelry. Every birthday, I got a new piece of jewelry. To this day, except for my engagement ring and wedding ring, all of my jewelry is from my mother.
Then my mother would put curlers in my hair and I’d get dressed up for my day at school. This happened EVERY YEAR until I was out of the house at age 18 (I actually was out of the house at age 17, but she gave me breakfast in bed that year too.)
Birthdays are special days, and my mom instilled that in us. When I met Todd, I found out that he grew up thinking that a birthday is just any other day of the year. I remember the first year we were together and he wasn’t going to take me out to eat for my birthday. I was so angry. He learned REAL QUICK how important birthdays are to me. He hasn’t forgotten since.
Not only would mom give us breakfast in bed, but we’d go out to eat for dinner the weekend before or after our birthday. She would have those people come to sing to you (you know, the most embarrassing thing in the world). And of course, the night of our birthday, we would get a few gifts. Some of the more memorable ones include: My Get-Along-Gang bike as a child, a phone for my bedroom (as a teen,) a TV for my bedroom (as a teen,) a palm tree, a renovation of our house in Buffalo to build a room for me. It was above the garage and had cathedral ceilings and skylights. My dad, grandpa and Uncle Todd built it for me. I had a white wicker day bed, and mom bought me a beautiful new comforter, and the palm tree for my room. It was like a garden-room, and I loved it! That was my favorite room of all time. I also remember getting Squeaker, the guinea pig she got me for my birthday one year. It was the craziest guinea pig in the world. Oh, not to mention the time a few years ago she took me to a casino for the night. We had great food, a good time gambling, and she gave me $100 to spend. She insisted I use the money instead of taking it home and paying bills, and I ended up hitting on a machine and coming home with more than $250. Oh! And the times she’d send flowers and balloons to school for me, and to work!
*sigh* The memories.
Also, mom would make us our favorite food for dinner the night of our birthday. My favorite foods were crab legs and French onion soup. Guess what everyone had to suffer through for dinner on my birthday every year? Yup. But they never complained.
I hope that one day, when Todd and I have children, that I will be able to make them feel as loved and cherished as my mother does on our birthdays.
The only problem is that I am not good with surprises, and it’s killing me not knowing what she has up her sleeve.
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