The Meems Turns 86...or 87

The Meems marked a milestone last week.  She turned 86 on the 9th.  

Me:  "So, how do you want to celebrate your birthday, Mom?  Eat out?  You want me to cook up something?"

Mom:  "Eat out."

Me:  "Name the place!"

Mom:  "Cracker Barrel.  It's my favorite."  (Oh, Cracker Barrel.  Thou art the home of bacon and eggs and chicken and dumplings.)

Me:  "You sure?  We can go anywhere you want!"

Mom:  "I'm sure."  [pause]  "Can I invite some friends?"

Me [grinning inside because I remember asking the same thing when I was a little girl]:  "Of course you can!  Who would you like to invite?!"

Little did Mom know that she was in for a big surprise on her birthday.  She received what she has declared to be "The Best Birthday Present EVER."  And, she wants the same gift every year for all the rest of her birthdays.

Aunt Wanda is one of her favorite people on Planet Earth.  When they both lived in Waco, they talked on the phone twice every day.  Mom liked to call Wanda to chat over morning coffee.  Precious Aunt Wanda listened intently to Mom's dreams..."Then, I was being chased by..."  In the evening, they would chat about the TV lineup for the night.  They loved going to Starbucks for coffee and scones before movies (so that Mom wouldn't fall asleep during the movie).  Then, they would go to dinner after the movie.  


After Mom moved to Lubbock, Wanda moved from Waco to the Houston area to be near her sister.  Wanda and Mom hadn't seen each other for a year and a half.

I had promised Mom that I would come over the afternoon of her birthday to take down all of her Christmas decorations.  Here is how the surprise went down:  (Please pardon the poor quality of the video.  Also, Mom has bedhead because she was recovering from a bout of bronchitis.)  

I love the little pats.

At Cracker Barrel that night, we celebrated with Meems, Wanda, Leonard and Mark.  Meems ordered her favorite - chicken and dumplings with greens and baked apples ("Pack the apples to-go please.")  What I loved the most was that she ordered chocolate milk.

Fashion Tip:  French berets hide bedhead.

The Best Birthday Present Ever

After dinner, we returned to Mom's apartment for her All-Time Favorite Birthday Cake:  Alan's White Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Icing.  The Meems was one happy princess that evening.

Happy 86th Birthday, Meems!

Mom's ID, social security card, and passport have mysteriously gone missing over the past few months.  I found an ancient driver's license of hers then armed myself with her birth certificate and every official looking scrap of paper I could find with her name on it a couple of days ago, and off we went to the DMV.  The lady who checked us in took a look at Mom's birth certificate and then at the old driver's license and said, "These birth dates don't match!"  The birth certificate proclaimed 1926 as her birthday.  The drivers license said 1925.


Mom [snapping her head in my direction]:  "Well, which one is it?  '25 or '26!"  [Like I would know.]


Me:  "Ummm, Mom.  I'm pretty sure that a certified copy of your birth certificate trumps a driver's license."


Mom:  "Oh."  [pause]  "So, how old am I?"


Me:  "86."


Mom:  "Are you sure I'm not 87, because it's OK if I am."


During the hour-long wait for her turn to get the ID, she asked me no less than 4 times, "Am I 86 or 87?"  The journey continues.