Mother's Day 2010

Let me preface this by saying my mother is healthier than she was last year on this day, and for that I'm grateful. I love my mother very much and would like to have her around for a long time.

That said, Mother's Day 2010 was unsettling.

No, not because my mom was dissatisfied with her gift. She was happy with the set of six commemorative repeat/three-peat Bulls glasses, prominently featuring her beloved Michael Jordan. And yes, yesterday she recalled that earlier this year I'd given her $500 to care for her poor sick cat, Lucy, and that we had agreed that would be her Mother's Day present. So our visit was pleasant. I "got" her on Sunday because my kid sister and her family wanted to fuss over my mother on Saturday.

I noticed that she's looking older every time I see her, and she can be very vague in conversation, but we got along well. The best times were when we rhapsodizing about my niece and nephew, who my mom and I agree are fantabulous.

The weird part was my kid sister. First, my mom relayed a message from her -- my sister has decided that "the adults" aren't exchanging gifts anymore for holidays or birthdays because she and her husband can't afford it. I said to my mom, "They're still buying for you, right?" Yes, she said. So it's just ME that my sister and her husband aren't exchanging gifts with anymore.

Also, I have been trying to engineer a few days of "side jobs" for my brother-in-law at a friend's house. After all, I keep hearing about how dire their financial straits are, and I know he does handyman projects on weekends. My brother-in-law has embarrassed me by not even returning my friend's calls. Okeedokee.

Then my kid sister kept calling. First to talk to my mom, then to me, then my mom again. The first calls were about a cat she was thinking of adopting -- her Mother's Day gift from her family. She wanted my advice for incorporating a second cat into their household. That's just like my kid sister. As she once said to me during an argument, it doesn't bother her to accept favors from me but somehow I just don't "inspire her to give."

The last call was the most awkward. I heard my mom say, "No, not yet. Soon … Pork would be nice … Breaded … I really shouldn't right now … No not yet …" I just packed up my purse and called a cab. It was clear that my sister was ordering carry out for her family and my mother and I wasn't included. Since she was in such a hurry for me to get out of my mother's house, I did my best to oblige.

As my mom gets older, I promise myself I will try to get along with my sisters for her sake. But the fact of the matter is, my kid sister is a selfish brat without redeeming features -- except, of course, my niece and nephew.