A Beautiful Day for Mothers

It remained gorgeous, bright, and warm when I finally got up around 10AM. While many women were having Chocolate-Covered Strawberries in honor of Mother's Day, I opted for Dark Chocolate Chip-Strawberry Multi-Grain Pancakes and a half of a grapefruit. Ran Brunch With the Beatles as I ate. The theme today was "The Beatles and Other British Invasion Groups." We heard early Beatles music, along with hits from other British bands who followed in their wake. Songs included "Wishin' an' Hopin'" and "I Only Want to Be With You" by Dusty Springfield, "Ferry Cross the Mersey" by Garry and the Pacemakers, "Time On My Side" by the Rolling Stones, and "I'm Into Something Good" by Herman's Hermits. I tried to get a hold of my own mother twice, but she was out. I figured she was either working in her garden or out to brunch with Dad.

After the Beatles finished, I went to the side yard to finish up the raking. The path leading to my apartment was pretty bad. Even at its worst, though, it never takes me very long to do. It was clear in less than 20 minutes. As I worked, I saw Richard and another man pull something huge out their side door. It seemed to be a very large entertainment center. Richard's wife said they got a big new TV; did I want their old one? Sorry, no. I love the 15-inch TV I bought last year. Nice to know I'm not the only one getting new furniture, though.

It was such a nice day, I went for a walk to CVS after I was done raking. The breeze felt fresh and cool as I made my way down to Newton Avenue. The gardens look so lovely. The roses, like everything else, are early this year. They're blooming in huge bunches of deep red, coral, dusky pink, and creamy white, twining up houses like thorny rainbows.

CVS wasn't too busy when I arrived. I needed contact solution. My current bottle is almost empty. The large container was on sale for $8.99; not great, but better than the 9 or 10 dollars it usually costs. I picked up Herbal Essences on sale as well, along with milk. I chatted briefly with Jodie's son TJ and a friend of his on my way back. They were riding bikes over to Jodie's house to wish her a happy Mother's Day. They wondered why I was on foot instead. I decided to give the bike a rest; I'd be taking it to work.

When I got in, I put my purchases away and had a simple, fast lunch of shrimp, spinach salad, and leftover steamed asparagus from yesterday. I had plenty of time for once to make dinner, change into my uniform, and head to work.

Work was really busy for most of the night. In addition to this being a holiday, there's lots of birthdays and barbecues this weekend. Many colleges are having their graduation ceremonies this week or next week, too. I ended up having to stay an extra hour because a college student called out, but given I only work two days this week and could use the money, maybe it's just as well.

I did finally get a hold of Mom when I got home. I guessed right; Dad did treat her to a Mother's Day breakfast at their favorite diner in Rio Grande this morning. She loved the card I sent her, too. We had a great chat about our favorite movies. (She can't wait for the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr. to come out on DVD next month. She saw it in the theaters, lucky duck!)