Birthday Card From Mom

For this year's Mother's Day, I sent my mom a Hoops and Yoyo card, partly because I think the two characters capture the spirit of me and my brother, but also because I really wanted to send my always-sensible mother an obnoxious singing greeting card. She actually found the card delightful, and for a few weeks kept opening and shutting the thing just to giggle at the song. Not quite the reaction I was expecting (it's always more fun to baffle or exasperate her), but cute.

Apparently, my mother has also decided to reciprocate the gesture by sending me a singing greeting card. In anticipation for my birthday next moth, she has sent me a card that plays this song:

Okay, if I had a daughter and I sent her a card that played a creepy Christian rock ballad to go along with its saccharine message about letting the joy in me shine through, I would expect that she would know I was doing so out of irony. But given that this is my mother, that she doesn't always understand my jokes, and that the one wish she has for me and my brother is that we would be more "serious," I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react. When I asked her, "So how did you pick this card, mom?" Her only response was, "What? It says I pray all your dreams come true!" So even though I can't keep the card open for more than two seconds without shuddering, I have to thank my mom for being very sweet.

Or maybe the woman knows me better than I think. Maybe she's at home laughing at the fact that I'm creeped out by this singing card. Maybe that's why she insisted that I open the card over the phone so that she could capture my reaction.

Well played, mom. Well played.