Charli Takes Over

Photo: Wokandapix via Pixabay

Hey everyone, Charli here -- you know, Marita's daughter? I'm taking over the blog today. I figured that maybe I wasn't the only kid who needed some outside help pulling off Mother's Day.

When your parents don't like each other very much, planning for Mother's Day can be kinda complicated. I can't exactly drive anywhere to pick out a card and, unlike in Anna's family, my dad's not going to show up any time soon to make sure my mom gets a card for Mother's Day.

When I was little, my grandfather used to take me shopping for Mother's Day cards -- one for mom and one for Grandma -- or at least that's how Mom tells it. I kinda remember going out alone with my grandpa sometimes, but I don't remember where we went or what we bought. Except for candy and ice cream. Those trips I remember. Mom says that all "came crashing to a halt" when she and I moved out and into our own house.

When I was about five, Bets and I started our Mother's Day shopping tradition. Bets picked me up after school one day and took me to the gift shop, and then out for ice cream. Bets has a way of making everything fun and I remember that I felt really special going out with a grown-up who wasn't my mom and picking out stuff for my mom all by myself. Back then, I usually picked something pretty or sparkly -- or both -- and didn't worry too much about what the card said.

This year will be the eighth year that Bets and I have gone card shopping. Somewhere between five and thirteen, I figured out what a good friend Bets is to Mom, and that the inside of the card matters more than the outside.

Marita, Charli and Bets are all
characters in my novel,
Casting the First Stone.

This year, I think I want to write a note to Mom inside her card -- something to let her know that even though I can be a tremendous pain sometimes, I'm really grateful to have her, and really glad to have a mom who worries about what's good for me even when it might not be something she's crazy about. The truth is, going to see my dad and getting to know Angel and having a baby sister -- those are all good things. And if my mom had just thought about herself like some moms do, I wouldn't have all that stuff.

This year, I think I want to get something for Angel, too. I never did before -- honestly, I never even thought of it when I was only going to Dad's every other weekend. And there was no way my mom was going to get that ball rolling, although I think this year, she'll understand, and maybe even agree.

I wonder if Bets will be a mom someday. I think she'd be good at making sure her kids had fun -- and ice cream. And I think she'd definitely love sparkly cards. She's certainly paid for enough of them in the past eight years.

Maybe this year, I should get a card for Bets, too -- not a Mother's Day card, of course -- just one that thanks her for making sure my mom had a Mother's Day celebration during all these years when I was too young to know it mattered.

Or maybe I'll just pay for her ice cream.