I ordered you those German pretzels that you love for your birthday. Fortunately, they will be arriving unwrapped, a day late, and without a card. This was not my intention, but, as you’ve always wanted me to believe, and as I now do actually believe, there is often a reason why the universe sends curve balls our way.
I’m hoping this particular divine intervention is a chance for me to say: THANK YOU for giving me perfectly crafted, perfectly wrapped, and perfectly timed gifts for every holiday, including Easter and Valentine’s Day, for 44 years. In return, I’d like to remind you of some of the best gifts you’ve given me over the years. AND because you’ve always told me that all you really want is for me to be happy, I want to tell you why the imperfect birthday gift I’m giving you might be the most perfect gift you have ever given me.
Just a few of your most fabulously fabulous gifts:
You took your art to the next level by starting Remagine Designs, securing spots in some of the most sophisticated stores in Aspen, Vail, and Santa Fe, and even in Donna Karen’s New York stores. You modeled how to reach success by being uniquely you. You repeatedly acknowledged that I inspired you to start this company, and helped me see that my ability to uncover potential in others is one of my greatest strengths.
You also used your artistic prowess to make countless gifts for me. Just a few examples:
- A pendant made from an antique compass and a picture of my great-grandmother with the inscription: “Elizabeth, may you always find your way home.”
- A metalsmithed necklace stamped with the “Elizabeth” stamp you used to stamp the lunches you made for me to take to school as a child.
- A resin heart filled with flowers from your backyard to put on my dresser to remind me of home.
When I received an email on the evening before Thanksgiving informing me that the present I was planning to give you for this birthday was going to be a far cry from the perfectly perfect gifts you’ve given me, my instinct was to scramble over the Thanksgiving holiday to fix it, and to ask my executive assistant to do the same. After thinking it over, I decided to give myself the gift of being imperfect and to give you the gift of reminding you to do the same.
I also want to include this photo of the most perfectly perfect birthday party you ever gave me. I held the image of this birthday party in my head for 40 years as an example of the fabulously fabulous artistic love you’ve given me AND the kind of perfection I could only aspire to. Four years ago, you revealed that you had some regrets about being at that party because you were very ill and should have been in bed that entire day. You acknowledged that you ignored your doctor’s orders, delayed your healing, and gave a bit too much of yourself in an attempt to love me. That may have been the best gift you have ever given me. Today, I still see this party as an example of the mountains you will climb for me and your ability to deliver fabulously fabulous parties and gifts AND a healthy reminder of the cost of perfection.
Mom,
THANK YOU for being PERFECT and reminding me to be IMPERFECT.
Happy Birthday.
