Of Wildly Inappropriate Lullabies and Birthdays

I don't even want to know how many days it's been since I've blogged. I've been insane with planning and sorting and lying to my mother. But more on that in a little bit.

Since I last blogged, I've been trying to sort out tax stuff, host Corwin's birthday party this past weekend (think: Nerf, Airsoft, a gaming LAN, a crap-ton of pizza and pop and six teenage boys) do preliminary planning for Killian's graduation party, write a book, keep up with my editing and get ready for the RT convention. But the thing that's been drawing most of my time and energy has been a surprise birthday party for my mom's 65th birthday.

Her actual birthday is on Saint Patrick's Day. Cait and I went out to eat and listen to music with her on Saturday and it was SO hard not to let something slip. Cait and I had to refrain from making eye contact with each other the whole time or we knew it was going to be all over.

My mom is the kind of person who does everything for everyone else and rarely takes time for herself, so we thought it would be a great idea to throw her a surprise party. I'm just going to say right now, I had no idea how stressful surprise parties are - particularly when you talk to someone as often as I talk to my mom. So it's been constant lying, evasion and speech monitoring. However - it was totally worth it!

We gathered about 70 or 80 of her friends, family and colleagues and surprised the hell out of her. She was stunned. There were the usual things - an amazing cake made by my super awesome SIL, food (that Cait and I refer to as Catholic Funeral Luncheon Style) hugs and gifts. There was also something else really special.

Some of the long time readers of this blog might remember me telling you about the concept of Wildly Inappropriate Lullabies. It's the nickname we gave the bedtime songs mom used to sing to us. For instance, it wasn't uncommon to hear songs like Let it Be, Brandy, Sundown, Bobby McGee, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Blowin' in the Wind, Turn, Turn, Turn along with Puff the Magic Dragon and Molly Malone.

Well, as we grew up and had kids of our own, we sang/sing our own Wildly Inappropriate Lullabies to our kids. After the amazing Tommy of Songs for Strangers wrote Existentialism in the Backseat - that awesome Riding in Cars with Boys song, we realized that mom needed her own song. So I contacted the guys at Songs for Strangers and this is what the freaking spectacular Jason cam up with. It's called Wildly Inappropriate Lullabies and when we played it at the party there were tears, laughter and more tears. Everyone loved it and no one could believe that Jason had written the perfect song for someone he'd never met. She said it's one of the best gifts she's ever been given. 

I have to share it with you guys because it's beyond awesome. And if you're looking for the perfect gift for someone, I highly recommend these guys. They're fantastic. 


And here are the lyrics :)

*Wildly Inappropriate Lullabies*

some of my fondest memories of youth
revolve around the times you put us to bed,
filling our little heads with fairy tales
but you were kind of a hippie and so
along with the nursery rhymes
you sang us songs of rebellion
and we set our sails to the sounds of...

wildly inappropriate lullabies

you’re a psychology professor
but you’re the absent-minded kind
like when you filled the washer up
and used maple syrup,
instead of soap
you love nature and gardening, knitting and pottery
you're "the best mother" defined
so what type of gift
could repay you for all my strength and hope?
one of your very own...

wildly inappropriate lullabies

you've endured so much
yet remained such a symbol of unconditional love and support
so we’ll carry the torch
 and pass on to our children
the family tradition of playing...

wildly inappropriate lullabies