Mama's birthday

Today would be my Mama's birthday...I miss my Mom! Mama loved Christmas...that was her holiday. Every year around Thanksgiving she'd put up the Christmas tree and decorate the house. Mama would get so excited over all of her presents...and many times, she'd poke and probe and shake the package...and sometimes she would even stick her finger through the box to see if she could figure out what was inside. You had to really be sharp to "trick her"...

One year when I was in high school, I got a job at a local dress store to make some extra money for the holidays. One of my jobs at the small shop was to keep the merchandise straightened up...and one of the tables had a display of ladies underwear. Well...there was some panties there that were so HUGE, I could not imagine anyone but my Granny wearing them. I kept looking at those oversized panties and I decided it might be fun to wrap them up for Mama in a BIG box as a joke. Well I did...and inside the box I added some rocks. I wrapped it early, secured the box with lots of tape so she could not poke a hole in it...and placed it under the tree. Try as she might, she could not figure out what was inside.

On Christmas morning, when she opened that box...we were all ROTFLOAO! Mama was a good sport about it...and she laughed with us. Little did I know what she had in mind.

When July rolled around and it was my birthday, Mama gave me a birthday party and all of my friends were invited. Now, remember, I was in high school and at that age...you did NOT want to be embarrassed in front of your friends. Well, all went well...and I began to open my gifts. After I finished, Mama pointed out a small box over to the side. I unwrapped it and saw a box supposedly containing a nice bottle of Avon lotion...BUT...when I opened the box...there was that pair of underwear stuffed inside...that I had given her for Christmas. I tried to close it quickly, but everyone was in on the secret...and they held me down and put those "Granny panties" on me over my clothes...and they all had a good laugh. I ended up laughing, too.

Needless to say, that pair of underwear would mysteriously appear at the oddest times in our family get togethers...and provided us with many laughs.