Thursday, May 24, 2007

this message brought to you from the snarky division of hallmark.

besides the handmade cards i got from the boybarians on mother's day (the duke's saying he loved me as much as he loved the yankees and wingman's wishing me a happy mother's day and wondering what i would look like bald) i got two cards from two friends as well...

i write this now, because i just got one of the cards today...

when you know someone a long time it's always an interesting thing getting a greeting card from them...because greeting cards are like shoes...either you have taste and know what you're doing or you don't...no ifs ands or tasseled loafers about it...

what's worse is getting a card from a lover...oooh, i hate that word lover (say it like molly shannon for added effect)... /shudder...but you know what i mean, it could really go either way...usually bad if they only go to hallmark...or even worse! a bad greeting card with misspelled words...grim. prognosis for relationship not good...

but, i digress.

greeting cards are trickier than shoes even in that you generally don't pick out a pair of shoes to send someone on a whim just to say hi! or for an occasion or holiday...

and if you do, well you just have too much damned time and money on your hands and you're partially insane...

there are soooooooooo many cards that could be sent to me that would really give me pause...does this person know me at all?...have the last twenty years shown them nothing?...aren't hand painted kids in adult clothing holding flowers a little 1988?

card #1

(outside)
light blue background with a graphic of a summery pink girl drink

Cheers! It's Mother's Day!

(inside)

Not traditionally a drinking holiday, but why the hell not, I say!

card#2

(outside)

a winding road with a cartoon chicken asking the following

Why did the mom cross the road?

(inside)

No one could tell, really. She was mumbling to herself about peace and quiet. She circled the block a couple of times and came back a lot happier. Happy Mother's Day

what i particularly like about these cards is that the sentiment is there and it. is. real...none of this As you reflect on this most important of days know that your place in this world is one of great importance as you shepherd your flock to the future pastures of blah blah flowery blah...

not that there isn't a place in this world for that kind of sentiment, but i'm not that kind of mother...because to me mothering is very real and sometimes very gritty...no amount of contrived script, graphic lace, and scalloped vellum inlays can convey what it is i do on a daily basis...

and i love that people get this...people who are supposed to care about me DO because they. get. it. too.

i love being a mother...i love my children...but if i can't find the humor and my way to the bottom of a glass some days i'd be circling that block WAY more than a couple of times...

x.

1 comment:

gojirama said...

Oh my gosh, yes, mama. I had most of a bottle of red on Mother's Day.
"as much as" the Yankees- sheesh.