Mom's Birthday

Surprise: something that has nothing to do with real estate.

My mother would have been 77 on July 26th, had she not lost her six-month battle with breast cancer in 1985.

Usually, it's just another day of the week. My dad will call to check on me, but typically, I'm just living my life that day, as I knew she wanted me to do.

But this year, I decided to celebrate her life with a Mommy-Daughter day. I took my little energy ball and her American Girl doll, Addie, out on the town. We went bike riding around the neighborhood, then I took her to this huge park with winding paths that she had a ball navigating. She hopped off her bike and ran like the wind toward the playground, then announced her hunger after a while, chugging down a kid-sized jug of water to make her point.

We drove to a mega shopping center, and joined a fantastic kid party. A musical group of young African American men was adding a hip twist to kid tunes. They had all manner of drums laying about, so we sat down and jammed to the Wheels on the Bus with the other children, parents and nannies. The trolley happened past, so we hopped on. Next stop, a farmer's market, where we noshed on Brazilian food in the open air. We stopped by the sticker store and she got to pick out two sheets, choosing one of butterflies and the other of cameras.

Off to American Girl we marched, the first time with Addie. We got her shoe fixed at the doll hospital and, as I suspected, she and my daughter were the only little Black girls in the store. But surprisingly, the woman who manages the store is African American. She fixed Addie for free, and treated me to a discussion on what makes Addie a valuable doll for my daughter. Not so much because she is associated with our history of slavery, but because the stories that accompany this doll encourage self-respect, independent thought, and resilience under pressure. These are all values I was taught by my parents and in scripture, and would like my daughter to learn.

But Addie's story is written for 8 year olds. As I was reading it to my daughter a month ago, she listened intently, but her facial expression indicated that she had no idea what I was saying. Clearly, she was just enjoying my lap. As the manager verified, at this time in her life, she's more likely to embrace their Bitty Baby line--goodness knows she always makes a beeline for that part of the store after we check out Addie's display. But, I think involving her in Addie's little marketing machine is probably enough. And it's not my fault. She was a gift.

After American Girl, we hopped on the trolley once more and headed home. Spent, my daughter nodded off in her carseat. I thought about the good time we had, not unlike many others--yet special because of who we were celebrating. I have so many pleasant memories of days out on the town with mom, it was nice to intentionally honor her day with my daughter.