Friday nite, my mom was feeling salty about how none of her family treated her to a birthday dinner, so I went to my parents’ house to take them out. I was supposed to treat her with Mr. W the weekend before, but my dad grabbed the bill and paid it with a credit card. My mom said that means she was paying for the meal since she pays the household bills. Then she went out with her mom for a birthday dinner during the week and somehow ended up paying for that, too. My mom said that since she paid for her own meals during her birthday, now that it was my birthday, I should treat everyone, too, as a new tradition. I agreed just cuz that makes life easier for now. She also pointed out that my birthday should be spent celebrating her, anyway, since she’s the one who went through the difficulty of pregnancy and labor so that I could be here. We went to a nearby Thai restaurant and waited forever for the check after we were done eating. My mom finally prompted my dad to go up to the counter and get the check, so he did. I’m sitting there chatting with her, and then saw over her shoulder that my dad was pulling out his wallet. So here was me:
*looking at my dad’s back* “Whoa, what’s he –”
*watching him pull out his wallet*
*my eyes widen*
*the whole guilt trip from my mom about not paying for dinner and imminent future guilt trips flash before my eyes*
*leaping up out of my seat in desperation*
*running to the counter, hurdling over chairs and tables and people*
“Dad, I got it! Go sit down! I’M paying for this!”
My dad says, “No, it’s YOUR BIRTHDAY.”
“It’s a new rule that we’re doing. I’m paying. Mom will yell at me if I don’t pay and I’m not going through that again.”
My dad looks at me thoughtfully. Then he says cheerfully, “Okay! Thanks!” and goes to sit down.

After dinner I took them to nearby Cherry On Top froyo, their first time experiencing the new make-your-own-froyo craze. I had a buy one, get one 10 oz free coupon that Cherry On Top emailed me, so I got both their yogurts for just $7. My mom and dad went nuts! 14 oz yogurts with toppings galore. I was impressed with their appetites until I realized as we left with their colossal desserts that they’d misunderstood how the cost is calculated. They thought it’s the same price no matter how they pack in the food, and were surprised when they saw that cost was calculated by weight. They probably worked at their yogurts all weekend long.

For my birthday, my mom passed down a beautiful heirloom gold peacock necklace that her mother had given her for her wedding.