Parent Birthdays

Today is my mom's birthday and yesterday was my dad's for that matter.  What on earth do you get parents for their birthdays?  And mom has a dentist appointment this morning anyway so how can you top that?   I usually find it difficult to come up with something unless mom has specifically said that there is something she's interested in.  She's generally difficult too because if there's something she wants, chances are she already purchased/did it.  She's just like that.

So each year when her birthday comes around, I'm often left wondering what on earth to do.  One year I happened to be sans kids because I had a work engagement and I took her and Nana out for dinner.  It was an extremely special evening because we were able to sit and enjoy an entire meal at our own pace.  Actually I think that was Nana's birthday but don't even get me started on the grandparent birthdays.

My sister is taking care of birthday dinner this year because we have a wedding to go to so we won't be here anyway.  We have plans to get together Sunday night at my sister's for a big family dinner. Not that I don't think she enjoys this as well, but I'm still unsure of what to bring.  She's not past the point of presents by any means, but she also doesn't have space for anything.

Mom loves antiques.  One year I bought her a spinning wheel, which she loved.  Another year I had picked up something nice, handmade sweater I think, and then I saw a great big wall hanging of "The Timeless Art of Seduction" I absolutely had to pick up.  I made a big production out of the presentation of this one too.  Mom had thought it was going to be a beautiful painting.  They almost peed themselves after the unveiling.  It was perfect.  That gift hung in her main bathroom for years until Nana finally "got sick of seeing it" and made her take it down. 

She (Mom, not always Nana) has a pretty good sense of humour so you can get away with that.  My sister recently presented her with two beautifully framed photos she had taken in Iceland.  One was of my sister and her fiancé and the other was of my sister, bare arsed, pointing to something in the Icelandic distance.  I wish I'd seen the presentation of that one.  Like I said, you can get away with stuff like that for my mom.

So this year, not unlike any other, I'm still trying to think of what to get for her.  Bare arses are out since she already got one of those.  Not that I would have thought of it honestly - that's been my sister's thing since she was much younger.  Mooning our mom that is.  I just made her crazy.  On the plus side I've kind of stopped doing that so that's a present in itself.  Yes, I'll probably write her something nice detailing how I no longer make her crazy.  And I'll add a gift certificate for new jeans; to make up for reminding her of how I used to make her crazy :)