Queen for a Day
Last year for Mother's Day we surprised my wife, Sue, and treated her like royalty. From the moment she woke up, to the time she went to sleep, we made her Queen for the day.
We usually surprise her with breakfast in bed on Mother's Day morning, but we wanted to fool her this time. The delicious aroma of homemade pancakes and bacon wafted upstairs to her room, but we stayed put in the kitchen, waiting. When my wife finally (she gave up on the idea of staying in bed) came downstairs and into the kitchen she was greeted by her “staff” - my son, daughter, and myself – standing in a row ready to serve her.
The kitchen table was set perfectly with china, linen napkins, crystal goblets and a beautiful floral centerpiece. The flowers included roses, rinoculas and snap dragons, inside a glass vase that we filled with gemstones of different colors. We covered her chair with a red velvet slipcover and I pulled the seat out for her to be seated. Then we all proclaimed she would be queen for the day. I placed a small velvet and jeweled crown I purchased at a costume store on her head, and we called her your majesty from then on.
After Sue was served a generous helping of pancakes with powdered sugar and fresh strawberries, bacon, and orange juice, we sat down to join her. While eating, we each praised her for her selflessness and dedication to our family. She tried to return the compliments, but we stopped her. Today was about her and her only. When she was finished eating my son escorted her to the family room where a new pair of slippers and soft furry robe awaited. He helped her into her comfort items and fluffed the couch pillows for her before she sat. I placed a pillow on the coffee table for her to put her feet up on, and handed her a new stack of some of her favorite magazines. While she relaxed and read, we cleaned up breakfast and left the kitchen spotless.
The rest of the morning was leisurely spent, as Sue greatly enjoyed doing nothing but catching up on celebrity news, home decorating, and self-improvement with her reading material. We did what any royal court would do while their queen was busy, and cleaned the “castle”, making the beds, dusting, vacuuming, and picking roses from the backyard. My daughter put the flowers in a vase and put them on the coffee table so Sue would have something pretty to look at and smell. We brought her a cup of tea with honey for when she wanted to sip something. When the afternoon finally arrived, she was ready to dress and we drew her a bubble bath. A small wrapped gift sat by the tub and she opened it. It was a scented candle that we lit for her to enjoy while she soaked.
Sue came downstairs about an hour later, and even remembered to put on her crown (I think she liked this queen stuff). It was a warm day so we asked her majesty if she'd like to do something indoors or out, and she chose out. We dutifully went to the car and I drove us to a nearby park and lake. Sue got a few stares (courtesy of the head wear) while we took a stroll on the walking path. I remembered to bring some bread so we could feed the ducks in the pond. Sue said it brought back memories of when our kids were younger and saved all the ends of the loaf of bread for duck feeding, and how they couldn't wait to see the ducks flock to us for eating. I even pushed my Sue on a swing, something she “hadn't done in ages,” she said. We remembered to bring a camera and took lots of family pictures (she always complains we don't have enough pictures). It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon with family.
By late afternoon we were all getting hungry and had planned on treating her majesty to an early dinner. I had made reservations at a fancy seafood restaurant and we arrived right on time. Our table was by an expansive window with views of mountains and trees. We didn't let Sue see a menu and instead did all the ordering for her. I knew all of her favorites and we had a feast that included crab, shrimp, and salmon. The queen ate to her hearts content and was too full for dessert (thankfully, since we had dessert planned for her at home). After dinner we gathered by a tree and asked the valet to take our picture.
Once home we fussed over her majesty, getting her slippers, making her comfortable on the couch, and putting her favorite music on. My son brought out a large cake we had baked the day before that was decorated with edible glitter and jewels. It was her favorite kind – carrot cake – and we sang our final praises as we ate dessert. We got her one last present to open. It was a picture frame in the shape of a crown with pearls around the edge. We hoped the photo of us all by the tree would turn out well so it could be placed in the frame for a forever memory of this Mother's Day.
