Thursday, May 05, 2011

Maureen

For Easter, my mother (Mimi) sent us cookies from Williams Sonoma.  She sent us several items, in fact.  The first several arrived about a week before Easter.  She advised that cookies were on their way.

As the Wednesday before Easter arrived, and the cookies still hadn't been delivered, I got a little nervous, but they came on Thursday.  I didn't want the kids to see them because they were a surprise.  So, rather than open the box, I opened the shipping label, receipt, and packing slip. 

The cookies were going to be personalized with "Mom & Dad", "Bobo", and "Chuckles".  I realized then that not only had I ceased being "Carrie" and my entire identity had been subsumed within "Mom" but also that I now had to share my cookie (in addition to sharing my bedroom, bed, and Easter basket).

As it turns out, Mimi was not making a statement about my relative worth as an independent person.  The cookies just come in packs of 3. 

On Easter Eve, the "Easter Bunny" began assembling the baskets in the hallway outside the bedroom doors.  The cookies were removed from their packages, labeled Love Mimi & Papa, and set atop their other Easterly treasures (jump ropes, whizzer whistles, pajamas, a Starburst, some coins).  First came Mom & Dad, then Bobo, and finally Maureen.  Guess I should have opened the box when it came.  The Love:  Mimi and Papa sticker was moved to cover up the personalization (after I took a photo for posterity). 

All day Sunday, I just kept thinking about how Maureen must have felt crying on Easter because her grandmother thought she was a "Chuckles".

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