Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Happy Birthday

my mom’s birthday gifts keep the “it’s the thought that counts” sentiment in business.


For my 21st birthday- 21 nonperishable food items- mandarin oranges, trail mix, rice-o-roni, and the like. the next year, two doves in a wrought iron cage. i suppose 22 doves would have been worse.

my birthday falls a few days after halloween. it is not unusual to get a costume accessory of some variety wrapped up and included as part of whatever gift my mother concocts. indeed, i believe the trail mix was themed with orange and black M&Ms.

scott’s birthday is cinco de seis. a sombrero is a safe bet. On his 27th, she threw in a plastic alien tablecloth and bottle of tequila named for a town known more for murders than fine spirits.

elizabeth once got a pair of size 14 pants and a muffin pan. she was a size 10 and had just given birth to her daughter.

theresa received a computer one year, which had us all convinced she loved theresa more than anyone else. the computer was bought second hand and had a crippling amount of porn still on its hard drive.

i suppose there’s a lesson here, a lesson about true gifts, what is valuable, how love can never be quantified, how it’s the thought that counts.

i told you she keeps that sentiment in business.

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