The Art of Forgetting

This may be hard to believe (I didn't believe it at first either) but it turns out that I do have a slight weakness. I'm a tad forgetful.

As painful an admission as this is, I've been known to forget a few dates here and there, and regretfully, it happened again this weekend.

I woke up Sunday morning nice and refreshed, ready for another fun day, completely oblivious to the fact that it was Mother's Day! Now I knew the entire week that it was coming up, but on the day itself, I had completely forgotten until my Mom called me.

The bad part is, I didn't even remember until a couple of minutes into the conversation. I was wondering why she sounded a little funny on the other end of the line, then it hit me. "Happy Mother's Day Mom!" Nope, it was too late and blatantly obvious that I had forgotten.

Suffice to say, I felt really bad. My poor Mom was waiting for my call. To compound the guilt, we don't live in the same state so my Mom got none of the pampering a great Mom deserves on Mother's day.

Luckily, I was able to talk myself out of any extreme trouble. How was I able to do this? Well, first, I was really sincerely sorry about forgetting and have promised to make it up for my Mom. Second, I brought up my exemplary track record of forgetfulness when it comes to remembering occasions on the exact date.

I always know the dates of things like Birthday's or Mother's day, but on the actual date, I have a habit of forgetting. I forgot my Dad's birthday last year, and my sister's a couple before that.

I know what you're thinking. "Arun, your despicable! Your Mom has made so many sacrifices for you, and you can't even remember ONE special day! I'm shocked at your thoughtlessness!" Believe you me, I feel REALLY bad, but my Mom forgave me so you can too.

In fact, I received TWO solid tongue lashings from friends on Saturday when I mentioned I forgot. It turns out girls do not like it when guys forget special dates. Big surprise eh? My friend Renata layed into me right after I got off the phone with my Mom. Later on, I mentioned my little flub to Mariana who also gave me a solid scolding.

Luckily, balance has been restored to Arun's World, and all has returned to normal.

On a related and somewhat cute note (yes, I just used the word "cute," but I promise, I'm not gay (not that there's anything wrong with that)), I saw a funny little interaction between a Mom and her older (mid 20's) son yesterday. I was walking down the street and this cute little Mom was holding some daiseys as she and her son were parting ways after brunch.

Mom: "Bye Sweety!"
Son: "Bye Mom."
Mom: "Careful crossing the street!"
Son: (slightly annoyed) "Ok Mom."
Mom: (now calling from about 100 feet away) "I Love You!"
Son: (slightly embarrassed and very quietly) "Ok Mom."
Mom: (apparently not hearing his response and calling louder) "I LOVE YOU SWEETY!"
Son: (really embarrassed and annoyed) "OK Mom!"
Me to the Mom: "Happy Mothers Day!"

It's funny how, no matter how old you are, Mom's are always Mom's. You can be Joe Toughguy at 30 years old, but your Mom won't hesitate to give you a tongue lashing for not cleaning your room or yelling "I love you sweety pie!" across the intersection in public.

If I so much as cough into the phone, my Mom will start pressuring me to take cold medication and go see the doctor. Then, I'll get frequent "check up" calls to make sure I'm feeling alright.

I suppose that's why we love our Mom's so much.