For the Birds (and for Mommy)

Yesterday my dad and the boys made me the best Mother’s Day gift. The final product is a bird feeder (specifically, it’s made to attract Baltimore Orioles, which is my mom’s favorite bird), and of course I love it. But if you know me you can guess that what I loved the best was watching my dad patiently teach the boys to use his power tools, hearing the stories again about how my dad learned these things (and got many of the tools) from his dad, seeing Simon’s delight as he felt so grown up doing things (mostly) by himself, holding Clara tight when it was “too loud,” laughing with Ian at his too-big paint shirt that made him feel “like a princess.”

When I thanked him for making me such a thoughtful and special gift, Ian corrected me: “It’s really for the birds.” Well, then, lucky birds, but they don’t have anything on lucky me.