Deadbeat Dad

There are some things that I'll never understand. I'll never understand why people like watching golf. I don't think I'll ever get why people enjoy math. And I certainly don't understand my dad.

When my brother Gerrit came home from his mission, the family all was going to meet at the airport to welcome him home. I wanted my parents to see my apartment since I had moved and they were going to be in Portland. Seems pretty normal, right? My dad had emailed me about something family history related, so I responded to that. I sent another email letting him know that I wanted to show him and Mom my new apartment and mentioned that I was living with Robert instead of my old roommate Jessa. That is the courteous thing to do, considering that my dad is a self-avowed homophobe. It wouldn't be thoughtful of me to just spring that on him when he walked through the door, so I wanted to let him know ahead of time. Well, he didn't write back, even when I messaged him a few more times.

Fast forward to when Gerrit actually gets in. My dad completely ignores me in the airport. He tells my mother that he said hello, but I never heard it. He doesn't make any effort whatsoever to talk to me, and of course the trip to my house doesn't materialize. Jump to the next day, where he won't sit with our family at church and refuses to talk in any group that I'm standing in. When the service lets out, he's the first one out the door and stands at the end of the hallway talking to one friend instead of in the foyer with everyone else. You know, family members and friends that are gathered for the first time together in a few years. Robert was with me, so he couldn't be bothered to be seen anywhere near us. At the family gathering just after, with our immediate family and their significant others, he wouldn't come.

Fast forward until now, and he's still refusing to talk to me. It's been almost a year since the email that I sent to him, and I have yet to get a text, phone call or email back. No response. He won't talk to me in person, won't stand in the same group as me or even attend the same event in some cases. I've received one postcard from him when he was abroad with my mother in Europe, signed "cordially" or something to that effect. Which is completely out of the blue considering all the rest of his behavior.

That brings us up to this week.

I got a text from "my dad" saying that he had a new phone and this was the number. I was surprised to hear from him, so I saved the number and texted back that I'd save it. I asked if he had received the letter I wrote to him a few months ago. This letter was 3 pages long, talking about what it was like when he was here for Gerrit's return and how disappointing his cutting me out of his life had been. No response to that text. 5 days later (which is today) I texted "Why send me your number if you're not going to respond when I text you?"

Come to find out, it was a "miscommunication". Since my father doesn't like doing things for himself, he had my mom set up his phone. I'm sure she programmed the numbers into the phone too. She texted us four kids from that phone with the new number, since my dad wouldn't have done it himself. I had thought he had texted me, but it was just my mom sharing his new phone number. He complained to her that I texted him, so my Mom left me a voicemail tonight explaining that it was her sending out the text and that he didn't actually mean to contact me. It was a "miscommunication". I don't fault my mother for anything in this scenario, because she did everything like a normal person would.

What gets me is that my father couldn't even handle me texting him. He couldn't deign to respond. Instead of saying "I got the letter", or "No, I didn't read it" or "It's good to hear from you" or "Long time no talk", he complains that I'm writing him. Instead of being happy that he's hearing from his son, he complains to my mother that I'm writing him at all. She calls to tell me it isn't actually him wanting to hear from me and it was her setting up the phone.

I honestly should have known better than to think my father wanted to hear from me. He couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge me when I came down to Salem for Gerrits reunion, and refused to go to the family dinner because I was there. He wouldn't come see my apt, take calls from me, respond to my email or my text. It must be so hard for him already having three children that he loves that acknowledging me is just too much of an effort. How terrible it must be that your child actually wants to talk to you and include you in their life. How distressing. That would mean *gasp* actually... admitting to others that you have another son and actually interacting with that person.

I'm so disappointed in him. When you are younger you think that your parents are the people that you can look up to for anything. You think that they're going to be there for you to rely on and that you can always come to them when you need help. Well, as it turns out, my mother is the only parent for me that lives up to that. I know that I can always talk to her about anything. I know she'll always be there for me. I know she loves me and I love her unconditionally. My father, on the other hand, has cut me out of his life. When he didn't like something about me (my being gay), he wrote me off. He tried. I went to therapy, they restricted what I did and the people I interacted with. They tried to pray it away. They tried to talk me out of it. But when that didn't work, only one parent still wanted something to do with me.

The ironic thing is that my father didn't have his dad around when he was growing up. His father left when my dad was around 2 (or somewhere in that range), and it took years to finally track him down when my dad was an adult. He always resented being rejected by his father. His mother and him had it hard, since she was taking care of him, her mother and herself. They didn't have a lot of money and were poor. Now, my parents have two houses and just got back from Europe. They're not rolling in beds made of money, but they live comfortable lives. My dad lifted himself out of poverty by working hard all through grad school to earn his doctorates. Both he and my mom worked very hard for what they've gotten. Though for the change that my dad has seen in how he lives, there's still something that's glaringly obvious to me: he's just repeating the same thing that happened to him. As cliche and predictable as it is, there's something that apparently he can't escape: generational abandonment. He might be better off than his parents were, but he can't escape that he's turned into his father in other ways.

To realize that is disappointing. When I know this has happened to two successive generations, it makes me question what kind of people they are. What kind of morals can they really have? When you toss aside the people that you should love unconditionally, who are you under it all? It's sad and disheartening that while I was raised to be proud of my lineage and family history, there's a simple phrase that encapsulates what my father has become:

A deadbeat dad.

Utah Tickets

We got our tickets for Utah! Robert and I will be flying down there April 21^st-25^th for my cousin Tasia’s wedding. I’m really looking forward to it! I’ll get to spend time with my mom, see friends, see family, and show Robert around. I’ll show him the temple grounds, maybe go shopping, go to a used bookstore in Bountiful that I like, wander downtown. The last few times that I’ve been to UT the sidewalk chalk festival was going on at the downtown outdoor mall, so I should check when that’s happening. There are some really talented people out there!

We’re staying with my mom, which makes sense money wise. No need to get a hotel if I have family there. My dad will be abroad in Europe, so I won’t be seeing him. Otherwise I wouldn’t be going, in all honesty. He cut me out of his life when he found out that Robert and I were living together. Not a peep from him since, even when he came up from Utah for my brother’s homecoming. So it’ll actually be enjoyable/possible with my father gone. I don’t know if Robert and I will have another chance of visiting my Mom in UT any time in the next long while.

I want to have some of the classic dinners from when I lived with my parents at our Salem house. Home-made pizza, shells and curry. Mmm. I miss my mom’s home-made cooking! It’s been a while since I’ve had it. The last time that I was there they were doing the diabetes cooking regimen for my dad, so there weren’t any of the classics. Of course we’ll go out for Thai food at least once, and then we’ll probably make no-bakes as well. They are the best cookies in the WORLD.

Erika will most likely come down from BYU-I and Gerrit said that he might visit from Stayton. Kurt has a camping trip with the priests quorum that he is serving with, so that interferes with UT plans. So a couple of siblings will be there, but even if it’s just Robert, my mom and me we’ll still have a good time. Cooking, see new things, board games, card games, etc.

I’m very much looking forward to it! Not only for the reasons listed above, but because vacations are nice. I will get to be away from work, out of my normal routine and have a break from stuff back in Portland. :D 

100 Things I Love

My sister blogged this same idea the other day [at A Blonde Thinks...] and I thought that it would be a great way to remind myself of how good my life is and how I'm surrounded by beautiful things. Below are my 100!

 

Sunshine
Swimming
Star Wars
Movies
Cuddling
Hot cocoa
Christmas lights
Playing in the snow
Pizza
Pine trees
Robert
My family
My friends
'Parks & Rec'
Chocolate
Thai food
Pineapple fried rice
Sweet texts
Old bookstores
Books
The coast
Hot sand
Massages
Witty banter
Harry Potter
Being tall
Kisses
Holding hands
Animals
Rucifee
Disney films
'Sex and the City'
Old maps
Scrabble
Board games
Sweet drinks
Dilbert
Psychology
Summer
Christmas
Christmas cards
Valentines
Birthdays
Traveling
Flying
Trying new foods
Journaling
Receiving a letter
Presents
Hugs
Coffee
Avas Rosteria
Powells Bookstore
Amazon
Weddings
Drives through pine forests
Clean air
City lights at night
Facebook
Internet
NPR
Precious (Robert's cat)
No-bake cookies
RISK board game
Mom's home-made pizza
Movie marathons
Salty food
Music
Gone With The Wind (novel)
Very Mary-Kate
Peanut butter
Burnt popcorn
Theaters
Fashion
Egyptology
Memoirs
Biographies
Dystopian literature
Curry
Home cooked food
Pumpkin bread
Halloween
Costumes
Dressing up
Photos 
Blonde hair

Learning something new

Scrapbooking

Sleeping in

A comfortable bed 

Starbucks

Birch trees

'Friends'

'Will & Grace' 

'Easy A' 

Ice cream

Pools

Portland

Chai Tea

 

...and for the final (but not necessarily the best) one:

 

Oregon

 

 

 

Halloween costume

I've found my Halloween costume! I'm excited because I think it's going to be perfect! I've decided to be Hermey from Rudolph. It's going to be cute because I have the blonde hair, plus it'll be funny since I'm 6'4'' and supposed to be an elf.

Now that my mom is down in Utah, she won't be able to make my costume this year. An awesome lady at work (Barb) and I are talking about her making me the costume, but I hate taking advantage of people and wouldn't want her to feel obligated/put out. If she does do it, I will treat her to dinner and bring her a snack at work. I don't know if it's tacky to offer money for doing that, so probably won't go that route.

Regardless of how it comes about, I think this is going to be the cutest thing ever. I am going to go to the dollar store and find toy pliers if I can (you know, because Hermey wants to be a dentist). I have real pliers, but that would just look creepy carrying those around.

Excited for this!

My New Ring

I was out shopping with my mom and sister two days ago while we were waiting for my dad to get off work and I saw this ring at the mall. I thought that it was totally adorable and guess how much it was? $1! So my mom got it for me. :) I think it's super cute!

House Hunting + Vaca

So the parentals have one more day of house hunting in front of them before they make their decision. Tomorrow is that final day that they are looking at the homes that are on the top of their list and making the final decision. I went house hunting with my mom and sister all today with my Aunt Angelina as our realtor. [Her website is here.] We looked at 8 different houses I think, but I really fell in love with one of them. It had Brazilian hardwood floors, 3 living rooms and 5 bedrooms. It's even bigger than the house that we have in Salem! Which is funny considering only Erika will be living with them. It was such a nice home and it was in a good neighborhood. I know that my Dad really has his heart set on another one that I've only seen the outside of. They are going to look at it again tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to go along and check out the inside of it. Everyone describes it as "really 70s", so I don't know how I feel about that. The one I saw today was very classy and spacious. The only thing that I would change is updating the kitchen. But that can be done after a bit. It just looks a smidge old. So I guess we shall see what's going to happen house wise.

In other news, I'm glad that I came down here to Utah. I always want to make the most of my vacations when I take them. I don't like to have tons of down time. So far I've seen Diana Ross in concert, playing Phase 10 with the cousins + Erika, gone to coffee and the mall with Gay @ BYU, had the MoHo Thai lunch and shopping that I wrote about earlier [here], visited with family, saw Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda's finished basement, got a new pair of pants and a ring, learned some about the geography of the valley here and house hunted. And I have plans tomorrow and on Friday as well. So I havent been lounging around.

Insomnia

I really should be putting my insomnia to better use by working on something constructive. So far this night i've watched a documentary, jumped from topic to topic on Wikipedia, texted with my friends until they all slowly fell asleep and then have laid here. I don't want to "work" on something per se because then sleep definitely wont come. I feel like if I'm just laying here with a general sense of apathy sleep might somehow overtake me.

I think the insomnia is a combination of my GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), metacognition and guilt. Sometimes I can't seem to remove myself from thinking about sleeping. It's the classic catch-22 in that I know I should be sleeping, so I start to think about what would get me to sleep and start thinking about how long it's taking me to actually fall asleep. I think "Am I sleeping yet? Am I closer to sleep? What physical sensations am I experiencing?" All while the clock ticks by on the wall and I'm thinking "If I fall asleep now I can get 5 hours sleep. But if I don't fall asleep for a half hour I only get 4.5. Thats not enough!" . By thinking about the problem it exacerbates it. In all actuality, thinking about sleeping to begin with and labeling it as a "problem" could be a self fulfilling prophecy. How I envy my mother who thinks there is a problem if she is not asleep within 30 seconds of laying down. She describes falling asleep literally within seconds of her head touching her pillow.

The guilt is from not treating my body well with sleeping patterns. Although I don't sleep during the day and I don't sleep late, I always feel guilty when I am not able to fall asleep til 4 or 5AM. And on tonight it's only worse. What I am mainly worried about is staying up late and pulling all nighters affecting my metabolism. Studies have shown that people who do not get enough sleep or are sleep deprived have slower metabolisms, higher body mass indexes, get sick more often and can have impaired cognitive functioning. (Um. Duh.) I don't want anything to get in the way of me losing weight. Or getting the rest I need for that matter.

Irregardless, tonight is a wash rest wise. Although I havent expended any real energy I'm going to be exhausted today since I havent slept since Saturday night. And that sleep was troubled and I woke up groggy and wanting more. I am excited, though, because I have the Diana Ross concert tonight. That should be a lot of fun!

Utah day 1

So I am in Utah staying at my aunts house with my sister Erika. My Mom, sister and I traveled down yesterday and got here late at night. Today was our first "real" day here and it was fun. I dropped Erika off at the BYU campus so she could visit her friend Casey and then I went to a Thai lunch with some MoHo friends.

We went to My Thai Asian Cuisine in Salt Lake and it was really good. For $10 I got a heaping plate of food that served as both my lunch and dinner. There were 9 of us MoHos there and it was a good group. For those with blogs, we had Scott, Warren, "Hope", "DarkDrearyWilderness" and "AKLDS". Afterward we headed to the Gateway mall and did some shopping and got Starbucks. Of course I got my tall Java Chip Frappuccino light, which means it only had 140 calories.

Between the Thai food and the shopping it was good meeting and catching up with a lot of MoHos. Funnily enough, I had only met Scott before and everyone else I was meeting for the first time in person. I had talked with most everyone online though at some point in time, so it was just like seeing friends again but just in a different dynamic.

After the mall I headed back to the BYU campus to pick Erika up which took an hour and we turned around to head right back to Aunt Lindas house. We settled our things and then took a 2.8 mile walk around the neighborhood. I found a neat way to map the amount of distance you are walking by putting it into gmap-pedometer.com. I saved that onto my favorites so I can easily tell what I am walking while outside. I want to walk more tonight, but it's pitch black out and I don't like walking in the dark. Tomorrow I am going to do that loop three times, so I will have walked almost 9 miles. Whoot.

Now it's bedtime. I had a party that I was invited to tonight but I am tired so Erika and I are unwinding at the house. Tomorrow I have walking in the morning, church at a German ward with my family at 1PM and then hanging out with my friend Taylor, which I am looking forward to. Should be a good day!

My New Car

Thats the one! Here it's sitting in my mom's work parking lot. It's a stick so I was nervous to start driving it, but Mom gave me a lesson yesterday and I drove it back to Portland. She taught me for about 15 min in the Houck parking lot (my old middle school!) then I drove it right home. Of course I've killed it a couple times but I will get better with practice. My biggest problem is 1st, but I've heard that that is the hardest gear. After that it's easy peasy.

I'm back from NYC! I absolutely loved it. There was so much to do and see. We didnt have any down time and there's always something to check out. There were also tons of people, which is awesome for a feeling of anonymity and so much opportunity for people watching. I'm definitely a people watcher no matter where I go, but in NYC it's inspiring because of all the fashion. I love seeing how differently everyone dresses and there's such an eclectic mix. I got home at 2:40AM-ish this morning and then started errands today before heading to Salem. The madre, Kurt, Emily and I are going to go out for Thai food and then tomorrow I am learning how to drive my new auto. I'm way stoked to learn how to drive stick. I havent done it before but I hope I will pick it up fast. This is a good weekend!

New Car

So I got a car! I went to different lots all day and was looking online and finally found one that I liked. It's a 2001 Saturn SC2 in yellow. It's a stick, which I have no idea how to drive, but my mom is going to teach me. Since I leave for NYC early Thursday morning, I won't really have time to learn how to drive it beforehand. So tomorrow I am dropping the rental car off at Enterprise and then borrowing Mom's car to drive back to Portland. Then i'll fly to NYC and when I get back then I'll drive back to Salem and have Mom teach me how to drive my own car. haha. A lot of shuffling around but it'll be worth it. My mom test drove it and said that it handled nice, and everything else looked good to me and it checked out well. So I'm the new owner of a car. Whoot. Glad to have that off my chest. I have had a lot on my mind with the NYC trip, my roomie breaking the lease and moving out and then the car getting totaled. So this is definitely helping put my mind at ease!

Parents House For Sale

When Mom and I got home from car shopping (which I will have to post about as well) the sign from her real estate agent was in her yard. She was all excited about it. The house is listed for sale here if you want to check it out. It's 6 bedrooms and 3 living rooms so my mom is worried that she's going to have a hard time unloading it. It had been for sale for a long time by the time we had purchased it. Anyway, that's a shot I snapped with my cellphone while heading inside. The process is well on it's way!

Car Totaled

So I totaled my car last week. I'm currently driving a rental that the insurance company is paying for while I look for a new car. I came down to Salem to visit my mom and go car shopping. We went to Robertson Motors, which is actually where both my mom and I got our last cars. Mine was a white Hyundai Elantra. Sadly it's gone. It was my first car so I felt sad walking away from it once I got my stuff out of it today. It had treated me well!

The car that is the most economical is a 2001 Buick Century for $10k (before we haggle 'em down) with 50,000 miles on it. It isnt anything special to look at but it'll last awhile and is in very good condition. There are 3 others there that we had our eyes on, but those jump up in price to around $13k and arent as good mileage wise. They just look so much cooler! At a different lot there was a Mini Cooper (which is my dream car) for $8k but it has 117,000 miles on it. That seems like a lot! My mom told me to only go for cars with 50,000 or less on them and thats more than double. Plus it's a stick. I don't know how to drive one, but I guess I could learn and it wouldnt be that big of a deal. The thought of getting it though and having it poop out on me in like half a year would totally suck. I wouldnt be financing as much, but I also would have more than twice the miles as the Buick. The only reason I'm not jumping on the Buick right now is because it looks so blah. I want a car thats somewhat cute. Or at least modern looking. That one is just ok.

I think I am going to go car shopping when mom is at work tomorrow. I also need to look online and see if there are any good deals on there that catch my eye. Obviously Im not going to buy a used car until I have a mechanic take a look at it and we have a really good one in Salem. Yay for moms having the hoookups!

Kurt and Em signed for an apt today! That's really exciting. Everyones moving! Pap is already down in Utah and Kurt is moving out to Stayton here in the next little bit. Then Mom is moving as soon as the house sells. The appraiser comes this week so they are making a list of everything that needs to be done.

In other news, theres only a week left of the term. I am way happy about that! I think I am going to do an accelerated summer class which is only one week for 4 psychology credits. Not bad at all, especially considering its an upper division course. I am officially a senior credit wise, but I will feel like one when this term gets over. Just one more year left until my BS!

Today I got to come down and spend the evening with mi madre in Salem. My Dad arrived in Utah today so it was just my Mom and I hanging out. We watched Harry Potter 4, played Racco and then made no-bake cookies. Of course we talked the entire time and it was really nice to see her. I am going to be really sad when I cant come down and see her anymore after she moves. We are going to go to Thai (surprise, surprise) tomorrow for lunch. You can never go wrong with a good Thai meal!

Best Man

Kurt asked me to be his best man!

I'm super excited about this. Being a best man has been on my bucket list forever and I want to be involved in the wedding. Plus it's a big honor. I didn't think that he would pick me since I can't actually attend the wedding portion of the day (since it will be in the Temple and I don't have a recommend). I thought he would ask our friend Bronson instead but I guess I made the cut.

He brought it up when I was visiting Salem on Wed for a late Mothers Day lunch with my Mom. I swung by the house to visit for a little bit and he said "You know, the best man is going to have to do a speech at my reception." I was like "..Ok?" And he was like "Well, what are you going to say?" I was like "You're picking me as your best man?!" He insisted on getting a sword from the library upstairs and dubbing me "best man" in the kitchen. Yes, it was a real sword. A three foot long saber. I guess a lot of people found that funny when I put it on facebook. I just think that's normal to have. My Dad has all sorts of interesting stuff in the library.

So the position is pretty much ceremonial since the bride and her half of the party are taking care of the wedding stuff and Kurt wants to do his Bachelors party himself. I think he's afraid of what I would come up with. Ceremonial positions are my favorite! haha. So I am wearing a tie that is tied in with the wedding colors. It's a yellow-gold combo. Not my best colors but I guess most people will be focusing on the bride there. Unless I can help it. ;) ...Juuuuust kidding.

Parentals moving

So the good news keeps on coming this week. I'm being facetious when I say that, although it is good news is some respects.

My Dad got a job at the family history center in Salt Lake with the Church. He moves *drumroll* at the end of this month on the 29th. Thats only a few weeks away! My Mom is going to stay back in Salem until the house is sold and then she will be following him down there.

I know that this is good news because my Dad has gotten a job that he's always wanted. The part that is bad news is that I am a little selfish and don't want my Mom to move away. I won't be able to come down and see her anymore and go out to our fav Thai place. Or come down and do crafts for a weekend. I know SLC isn't like Zimbabwe. I'll be able to come down and visit and I'm sure that she will come up from time to time. It's just that its a pretty major change and the house in Salem is the one that I've really grown up in. And I personally would not like to live in Utah. I think anyone that knows me would know that right off the bat. I am liberal and progressive and I would not mesh well there.

My Mom is one of 14 and 8 of her siblings live down there, plus her parents as well. So my Mom will be surrounded by a lot of her family. Immediate family wise, I will stay in Portland and Kurt is moving out to Stayton (just a bit outside of Salem in Oregon) to be with Emily. Gerrit is on his mission and then Erika is at BYU so when she gets home from school she will be going to Utah. So just my parents and Erika will actually make the move there.

I'm happy for them but sad I wont be close anymore. Big changes happening!

So I went to dinner last night to Berbati's with some friends and then we went out afterward. The dinner and going out was a lot of fun but there were two things that I wasn't super excited about that happened:

A. The guy that I am crushing on (we shall call him "B") told me that he usually goes for more masculine guys.

We met last week and then had a date at Fat Straw on 23rd a few days later. We also have a date for Tuesday where I am treating him to fondue at the Rheinlander (happy hour) since it's his birthday. I ran into him last night and we got to texting and he said that he was unsure about what he was thinking because he is usually attracted to guys that are more masculine. That makes sense because everyone has their preferences. I do, of course. I just think it's too bad because he is cute and fun and has his life together. I don't feel bad that I am effeminate at all because that's just who I am. I guess we shall see how the fondue date goes with B, though it doesn't seem like it will go anywhere.

B. I wore a trench coat last night that I had to take off when we went out dancing. I didn't really want to but it was too hot in there and it would have looked weird if I would have kept it on. I felt like a stuffed sausage. When I asked my friend "Does this make me look fat?" he responded "Well... Everyone has different body types and its different for everyone what fat means."

Ugh.

And the dieting begins. Again. I have fallen off the wagon on that lately with how busy i've been but now I am going to go hardcore. I think it is fascinating how some people have never worried about weight. Like they don't think about it. That is so foreign to me. I have always thought about it. Food, weight, the scale, numbers, calories. It's always been something that I think about since early high school. Kurt (my bro) said it isn't something that he ever thinks about. He just eats when he is hungry and has food that tastes good. I know that jealousy and envy are poisonous but I cant help feeling green about that. It's so... odd. I wonder if I will have that one day? My Mom told me one time that people eat when they are hungry and then pretty much forget about it from that point forward. They don't keep food logs or run over the food in their heads from the day. I think thats very cool. I just can't seem to do that.

Chat with my therapist

I went down to Salem yesterday to go to my Dr. appt. It was actually with my therapist so we could do a reeval since I havent seen her in over a year. I was happy because it was definitely an ego boost. She said that I was "serene and secure" and had done so much growing since I had seen her last. She said that I seemed comfortable in my own skin and that I had really found who I was. We chatted for an hour and I felt fine the entire time, even though we were talking about "deep" stuff. The last time I was there I was a mess, and she and I laughed about how I was so out of control then. It's good to get the positive reinforcement that I am doing so much better now. I feel good!

Afterward I went to Thai with my Mom and we had a really good meal at Thai Beer, then headed to Craft Warehouse for a bit of browsing on her lunch from work. It's always good to see her.

All in all, the 3 hours I spent there were bien. Lol

Easter Basket

Kelsey gave me an Easter Basket at work. How cute is that? I havent had an Easter basket before. At our casa growing up we had a lot of fun finding all the eggs and candy that my Mom would hide around the house but we never did personal baskets per se. It was a lot of fun growing up, but of course theres no one to hide candy at my apt now so this was a cute little Easter surprise when I came into work. I think that it was really thoughtful of her to do that!

This picture below is one that my Mom sent me of a present she received in the mail when I texted her a pic of Kelsey's basket. How adorable is that? The note that was attached said "Heres hopping you have a beary eggcellent Easter!"