Needless to say on Mother's Day, work was busy almost the entire day. Even with enough help, we still had lines down the aisles. Fathers and children eager to treat their mothers to gifts stripped almost every flower and box of chocolate-covered strawberries in the entire store. People are still grumbling about not getting plastic and paper bags for free anymore, too. I think it's just that most of them tend to leave them in their cars and aren't used to bringing them along everywhere. At least my relief showed up when they were supposed to this time, and I remembered to pick up salad bowls for later in the week.
Changed and had a snack when I got home, then called Mom. I texted her earlier for Mother's Day and told her I'd call after work. She's mostly getting ready to move to Virginia with my brother Keefe and his wife Julie in late July. She's also delighted to announce that they're having a girl, and intend to name her Aurora. Oh, and Rose is apparently now speaking to Anny. She got together with her and her kids at a nearby park a few weeks ago.
Anny's having more problems. Her dance-obsessed younger daughter Lilah broke her foot and won't let it rest, and her 13-year-old son Collyn is apparently giving her trouble. Skylar, who will be 18 in late July, is doing better. I'm going to have to think of something good to buy him, not only for such an important birthday, but for his graduation as well. Apparently, neither he nor his mother have any idea of what he's going to do after school.
Listened to the Patti LuPone Gypsy cast album CD and puttered online after I got off with Mom. There's some good performances in this recording of the 2008 Broadway revival, starting with LuPone herself as a Rose who is bold, and yet a bit warmer than brassy Merman or kittenish Bernadette Peters (who played the role in another revival just five years before). Laura Benati does a touching "Little Lamb," and Boyd Gaines partners LuPone well for "You'll Never Get Away From Me."
Finished the night on YouTube after a pleasant meal downstairs with family game shows or ones revolving around mothers. The Dating Game, of all shows, did a Mother's Day episode in 1972. First, little Dawn Lyn of My Three Sons chooses a date for her mother. Then, three mothers answer questions for their daughters to decide which one would go out with a handsome young man.
Most other shows brought the whole family in. Family Feud, whether with Richard Dawson in 1977 or Ray Combs in 1990, never failed to have some of the wildest answers from any mother's mouth. Family Double Dare from 1988 proved that the family that plays together, slimes together in an unusually intense episode that culminated with a rare obstacle course win. Blockbusters pit a pair of twins with identical impressive handlebar mustaches against a young lady and proved that two heads really are better than one, especially two that look and think alike!
Not every game involving families was as successful. Chuck Barris attempted to follow up The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game with more "Games" shows. The Family Game was basically "Newlywed Game with kids." Parents have to guess what their kids answered to questions about them. Bob Barker tried hard and worked well with the children, but matches were few and far between, and it just wasn't as funny to get weird answers from kids and parents as it was from newly married couples. ABC agreed and canned it after six months; the episode shown here is one of only two known to exist.
Family Game Night went over far better on The Hub (now Discovery Family) in the early-mid 2010's. Two families compete in a series of challenges based around Hasbro board and electronic games. My favorite here was the Bop It! Boptagon, which had the families playing objects and trying to keep up with the changing commands, including to move to the next instrument. It came down to an intense showdown between the moms that was actually riveting to watch.
Introduce your mom to some of the wildest mothers to ever compete on television with these crazy game shows! (The Family Game is in two parts, but as I mentioned, it's very rare.)
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