"Because I'm the Mom" & "I Said So"

If memory serves me well, then it was the year of Mom's surprise birthday party. Dad felt it was a good year to celebrate Mom with a surprise party, & although us kids were kind of young for the task, with the assistance of a few next-door neighbors, we pulled it off quite well. There was no doubt the party would be at our house; that wasn't even something we discussed. Our family would be out of the house early Sunday morning, so the invitations indicated to arrive during the hour or so of our absence. The house was typically kept in tip-top orderly condition; essentially with Mom's weekly Saturday cleaning & organizing, she prepared her house for her own party. 😂 So, yes, when we returned to the house late that Sunday morning, & Dad unlocked the front door (that our "preppers" made sure to lock behind them from the inside) as he always did upon returning to the house, he did his best to guide Mom inside the front door ahead of him - so she would directly receive the "surprise" accolade. It worked.

To top off this "surprise birthday" year Dad helped us find a great idea for Mom's official birthday & Mother's Day gifts. Or, to at least truly top off the gift of the surprise birthday party.

Common phrases in those days at our house were, "Because I'm the Mom..." & "I Said So." These two phrases were specially printed (Amazon link as well as the image link in the top left) on two t-shirts for Mom to wear. For the week or so after the day of her party, because she was so thrilled, she'd keep getting instigated to say such phrases, & she's smile, giggle, & pull out these t-shirts as if waving a flag rather than say what they read. Even a time or two after she'd put away those items she received that day, we'd find her rhetorically asking, "Do I need to go get those shirts again?"

She loved them & wore them throughout the years, until their colors faded & the fabric had all but completely stretched out. These days she's a grandmother, providing grandmotherly wisdom without waving any t-shirt flags.