After checking and responding to emails, it was time to get rolling to visit Mom for her birthday.  Lately Mom’s had a taste for strawberry, so her cake was strawberry with strawberry filling.  Rick’s bakery makes the best cakes, and Mom’s was really beautiful. I didn’t get to taste it, but that’s another story.  I’m sure it was yummy, their cakes always are.  With Mom’s cake in hand I headed to Pea Ridge to wish her a happy birthday and take her to lunch.  Little did I know that she had other plans.  When I got there, she was out already, Diva that she is, getting her nails done.  So I waited.

Mom arrived after a little bit and we headed to lunch.  She had a taste for fish, and a strawberry shake.  The former was easy the latter a bit more challenging.  We finally settled on Applebee’s in Rogers which had both.  It turns out that the waiter, John, was someone I known since I first moved to Arkansas.  It was great to see him.  We hadn’t seen each other in years, and spent some time catching up.  Mom ordered a shrimp dinner and John really pampered her, especially because it was her special day.

I had a chicken stir-fry dish with lots of veggies (my system was in shock).  After Mom gave up on the meal, and John boxed the leftovers, he brought her a strawberry cheesecake shooter. (That’s what they call it.  It’s a mini-cheesecake in a small glass).

We took the scenic route home, and enjoyed each other’s company as Mom marveled at the temperature.  It was another hot one, is a series of record setting hot days and as Mom put it, “I’m glad we’re not in the Union Maid.”  The Union Maid (pun intended) was my 1994 Ford Taurus that we rode in for a couple of years without air.  I had to agree that our current circumstance were much better.  After I got Mom situated in her apartment, I reminded her that she had a cake waiting for her. But, she forgot.  She was so full from lunch, that she didn’t go to dinner.  When I called to ask how she liked the cake, she said, “I forgot about it.  I’m going to see where my cake is.”

The next day I checked and she said, “Oh yes we had it for lunch.  It was pretty, too pretty to eat—almost.”  Happy Birthday, Mom.