June 22, 2020

It’s a joy celebrating my birthday next to Father’s Day each year as it makes for a festive weekend.

My birthday present caught me by surprise. As I unwrapped the box, I noticed the image of an appliance of some sort on the top. “You got me a rice cooker…!” I said with “delight.” Louie egged me on and said calmly, “Yes…,it’s a rice cooker…….” In my mind I was thinking that I already make perfect steamed rice stove top – in 15 minutes flat. It would take that long to pull the rice cooker out of the cabinet just to set it up. Then I took the wrapper off the “rice cooker.” Lo and behold, it was a Foot Spa Massager with T Rollers, Heat and Bubbles. Now I was smiling. I have been desperately missing my pedicures – and can’t wait to luxuriate again!

But yesterday was Louie’s day -- with a surprise visit by his Aunt Magdalena, our nephew Jeff, and his girlfriend Gabbie – and Lola’s brother Bleu and her “cousins” Bunny and Messi. (Of course, we bought take out, gathered outside on the lawn, used compostable dishes, and social distanced.)

The day before, I went on the hunt for Father’s Day cards at a local store. Sold out, the storekeeper told me. So, I resorted to an emergency tactic:

I’m famous for judging a greeting card by its cover. Like the time I was on a media trip to a dude ranch in Montana. We had only a few minutes to walk through a gift shop in town. Knowing I would be arriving back home on Louie’s birthday, I beelined for the greeting card stand. I saw the perfect card: a beautiful leather saddle with a Golden Retriever resting its head on the seat. After arriving back in Los Angeles and sitting in the airport shuttle bus that would take me to the restaurant where I would meet Louie and Jacqueline for his birthday dinner, I reached in my bag to sign Louie’s birthday card. In the crowded shuttle bus, I suddenly laughed out loud when I opened the card. The sentiment? “Hope you’re back in the saddle soon!”

Another time, for another birthday card, I spotted a lovely print of a watercolor: A little boy sitting on a tree branch facing what looked like Mt. Fuji in the distance. Such a contemplative uncomplicated scene. The sentiment? “Condolences.”

Those moments saved me this Father’s Day. I came upon THEE perfect card. When Louie opened it, he grinned from ear to ear.

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