Maybe a Lanyard?

Before I know it, it will be here. I need to buy a gift for my mom for Mother's Day. Yeah, I know it's in May. And, yes, I know that it is only the middle of April. The problem is that overseas mail service is not always predictable, timely. I'd like to sent a package by the end of April just to make sure it isn't late.

Of course, each year gets harder and harder. We are at the point where she has almost everything and what she doesn't have, she goes and buys herself. I've already sent her lots of German embroidered tablecloths and doilies which she loves. But how many of those can one have? And we've done the German chocolates and candies. Hand-blown vases from Bodenmais and wood carvings from Oberammergau.  All the typical gifts as well. I've even resorted to sending gift certificates for Christmas--to the bookstore, a restaurant, even the grocery store. But Mother's Day is different. I need to find something special. Something with meaning. Something that says "Thanks for putting up with me all those years. I appreciate and love you." Something that she will go crazy about.

Unfortunately, each time I try to think about it, I get stuck and it is all Billy Collin's fault. That clip of him reading "The Lanyard" keeps running through my head. You know the one...the one about him going to camp and sitting at a bench and making a gift for his mother. The one where... WHAT? Did you just say you have no clue what I am talking about??? Okay. Whoever said that should watch this:

Well, somehow I don't think a lanyard would be her gift of choice. Only if my daughter made it.

The search goes on, but don't worry. If I get to the end of my rope, I'll just hold it tight in my hands, grab the other end, and skip rope for a while. Maybe an idea will jump out at me. Until then I'll be thinking of what to do for the letter N.